A question that’s been roiling the Catholic Church for years is whether Nancy Pelosi and Dick Durbin and other Catholic politicians should be denied Communion since they support the legalized killing of children in the womb.

In 2004, then-Fr. Kevin Vann (now Bishop Vann of Orange, CA) publicly advised U.S. Senator Durbin not to present himself for Communion at his home church in Springfield due to his stance on abortion. But mostly the Church has wrestled with this question through the decades. Many wonder why there is any reluctance to deny Communion to Catholics who endorse views contrary to those of the Church.

Opponents of the denial of Communion argue that since we’re all sinners, if we deny Communion to some politicians on this issue, then we must deny Communion to others in the pews who are engaged in serious sin. That, in turn, would mean that few would be receiving Communion, which is at the heart of Mass for Catholics.

But now action has been taken by Nancy Pelosi’s archbishop, Salvatore Cordileone, in San Francisco to deny her Communion, and the floodgates of opinion have opened. The action was immediately praised by other bishops and panned by celebrities.

First, let’s get the easy stuff out of the way. Celebrity Whoopi Goldberg, who identifies as Catholic, proclaims on TV to the archbishop: “It’s not your job!” Except that it is Archbishop Cordileone’s job. In fact, it’s at the very heart of the “job description” for a bishop or priest. They are called to tend their flock and help people live righteously, part of which is administering or withholding the Eucharist.

Second, politicians and leaders have a special responsibility that most of us don’t have.[1] As leaders of civil government, they regularly determine life-and-death issues, chief among which is abortion—the direct killing of innocent unborn children.

Now on to the nitty-gritty of Catholic Church teaching.

The way it’s supposed to work is that the priest of the church that Nancy Pelosi attends is in charge of ministering to her. Just like any other parishioner, the local priest is her shepherd. He talks to her, hears her confessions, counsels her, and administers the sacraments to her. He gets to know the real Nancy, who is created in the image and likeness of Almighty God, all for the purpose of helping her grow in holiness.

For decades, her priest (and his boss, the archbishop) have undoubtedly held many private conversations with Pelosi. Many attempts to get her to renounce killing the unborn were surely made. Indeed, Nancy says so herself. But she says she “disagrees” with the Church on this and other key issues.

So, what is an archbishop to do? He is to do exactly what Archbishop Cordileone did. Privately counsel one of his flock on a major sin. Counsel her to confess and ask for forgiveness. And urge her not to sin again. If she refuses, the priest cannot in good conscience administer the sacrament of Communion.

Catholic leaders like Pelosi and Durbin will often say that Catholic teaching provides that one’s “right of conscience” is sacred. That is true. But using that as an excuse to support abortion or gay “marriage” or any other serious sin makes a mockery of the teaching. The teaching does not give carte blanche to reject Catholic doctrine.

Catholic teaching says that a “well-formed conscience is upright and truthful” and also that a well-formed conscience can never contradict the objective moral truth contained in Sacred Scripture or taught by the Magisterium of the Church.

Public discussions of the Catholic Church’s respect for conscience often include a grave misunderstanding of how the Catholic Church views conscience. Conscience is “the sense of right and wrong, but also the obligations that follow from our understanding of what is right and wrong.”

Further, conscience must be properly formed by Scripture and the historical teachings of the Catholic Church. Catholic apologist Tom Nash writes,

[A] Catholic is obligated to form his conscience particularly with the teachings of the Church (CCC 1785) and including these basic moral rules:

• One may never do evil so that good may result from it
• The Golden Rule: “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.”
• Charity always proceeds by way of respect for one’s neighbor and his conscience: “Thus sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience . . . you sin against Christ.” Therefore “it is right not to . . . do anything that makes your brother stumble”

Choosing abortion clearly violates all three rules. Thus, one can never have a truly certain conscience and choose abortion. … In addition, as Vatican II makes clear, conscience does not give individual Catholics arbitrary veto power over any and all Church teachings they don’t like. Rather, in evaluating decisions in their conscience, Catholics are faced with an objective, divinely given law (see Romans 2:14-16) they must obey, not one they can override or rewrite.

The archbishop obviously doesn’t believe Nancy is submitting to God. As Nancy Pelosi said, “They say to me, ‘Nancy Pelosi thinks she knows more about having babies than the pope.’ Yes I do. Are you stupid?”

The Catholic Church believes that its priests, bishops, archbishops, and cardinals, are established on Earth for the purpose of guiding and helping people grow in holiness. Like most clergy, Archbishop Cordileone is keenly aware of his role in trying to get Nancy Pelosi, and others in his care, to accept God’s Word. Let us pray for them all.