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Published: January 15, 2007

Not his style

Archbishop Donald Wuerl goes on record: he will take no action to prevent Nancy Pelosi from receiving Communion despite her obstinate support of abortion and same-sex marriage

Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., who has come under fire for failing to speak out against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s attendance Jan. 3 at a Mass at her alma mater, Trinity University, came to San Diego’s Kona Kai Resort the weekend of January 13-14 to speak at an international Communion and Liberation conference.

While in San Diego, Wuerl told California Catholic Daily reporter Allyson Smith that he has no plans to discipline the newly elected Democratic Speaker, who is now the most powerful Catholic in Congress -- and an ardent supporter of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and pro-homosexual legislation.

Smith: “Did you make any statement last week about Nancy Pelosi going to Mass at Trinity University?”

Wuerl: “That was a matter between the university and Nancy. They were offering their location, and the Mass was celebrated by a priest with faculties, and there was no reason to make any comment.”

Smith: “Do you intend to discipline her at all for being persistent and obstinate about her support for abortion and same-sex marriage?”

Wuerl: “I will not be using the faculty in the manner you have described.”

Smith: “Will you make a statement to your priests and deacons to warn her not to allow her to receive if she presents herself for Communion?”

Wuerl: “You’re talking about a whole different style of pastoral ministry. No.”

Smith: “No? Thank you.”

Pelosi has been roundly criticized in conservative Catholic circles for publicizing her attendance at the Trinity University Mass and another recent visit to St. Leo the Great church in Baltimore in an effort to recast her image from that of a liberal San Francisco Democrat to that of an Italian Catholic grandmother.

Prior to the Mass at Trinity, American Life League president Judie Brown implored Archbishop Wuerl to intervene in the matter. “Rep. Pelosi has a tremendous opportunity to make a difference for all human beings as the most powerful Catholic in Congress,” said Brown. “Unfortunately, she continually supports the very act that destroys life rather than protects it. It is for this very reason that a Catholic institution should not condone or support her position as a legislator.”

The purpose of Archbishop Wuerl’s San Diego visit was to attend Communion and Liberation’s “Conference on the Occasion of the Publication of The Journey to Truth is an Experience,” a book by the organization’s founder, Monsignor Luigi Giussani. Wuerl participated in a panel on the topic “Education and the Christian Experience.” Other panelists included international leader of Communion and Liberation Fr. Julian Carron and Theology and Christian Scriptures professor Rev. Dr. John W. Wright of Point Loma Nazarene University. The panel was moderated by theologian Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete.

According to promotional literature distributed at the event, “Communion and Liberation is an international ecclesial movement in the Catholic Church founded by the late Msgr. Luigi Giussani in 1954.” The group’s mission “is the education of its members toward Christian maturity, and collaboration in the mission of the Church in all spheres of contemporary life. CL is today present in over 70 countries throughout the world and in more than 120 cities in the United States.”

© California Catholic Daily 2007. All Rights Reserved.