Many Catholic bishops in America seem too cowardly to uphold the doctrine of the faith when abortion is in the focus of the debate, as evidenced by a vote in mid-June.
Back then, amid a debate over whether powerful Democratic politicians who are Catholic, like President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, should be blocked from receiving holy communion after supporting abortion, 25 percent of bishops rejected the idea.
Yet Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is not among them.
Last week, for the second time in a month, Cordileone, who oversees the Archdiocese of San Francisco, has called out Pelosi for supporting federal funding for abortion.
In late July the website LifeNews.com reported that Pelosi had blocked a push by House Republicans for a vote on bills related to taxpayer-funded abortions 55 times just within the past month.
At issue is the Hyde Amendment, a provision that first outlawed public funding for the procedure in 1976. It has been renewed annually since then, often enjoying broad bipartisan support.
But this year, as the number of pro-life Democrats has dwindled to zero, Pelosi’s caucus has dropped the Hyde Amendment, clearing the way for forcing pro-life taxpayers to fund abortion.
GOP Reps. Gus Bilirakis of Tarpon Springs, Scott Franklin of Lakeland, and Kat Cammack of Gainesville are among those who have advocated for a vote to continue the Hyde Amendment.
According to LifeNews.com, the Hyde Amendment has saved an estimated 2.4 million lives.
Archbishop Cordileone tweeted the LfeNews.com story, which featured a prominent photo of Pelosi, and said, “The Hyde Amendment saved 2.4 million innocent babies. Catholics stand for human life and core human rights.”
A week before this article, Pelosi had weirdly told reporters that she supported ending the Hyde Amendment because, as a “devout Catholic,” she believed it was essential to help poor women obtain abortions.
Cordileone, in a statement posted on the archdiocese’s website, replied, “Let me repeat: no one can claim to be a devout Catholic and condone the killing of innocent human life, let alone have the government pay for it.”
“The right to life is a fundamental – the most fundamental – human right, and Catholics do not oppose fundamental human rights. To use the smokescreen of abortion as an issue of health and fairness to poor women is the epitome of hypocrisy: what about the health of the baby being killed?”
“It is people of faith who run pro-life crisis pregnancy clinics; they are the only ones who provide poor women life-giving alternatives to having their babies killed in their wombs,” the archbishop added.
“I cannot be prouder of my fellow Catholics who are so prominent in providing this vital service. To them I say: you are the ones worthy to call yourselves ‘devout Catholics’!”
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