Catholic leaders critical of Pelosi's abortion defense

Politics can be treacherous. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi walked on even riskier ground in a recent TV interview when she attempted a theological defense of her support for abortion rights.

Roman Catholic bishops consider her arguments on St. Augustine and free will so far out of line with church teaching that they have issued a steady stream of statements to correct her. Cardinals and archbishops in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York and Denver are among those who have criticized her remarks.

It has been a harsh rebuke for the Democratic congresswoman, a Catholic school graduate who repeatedly has expressed pride in and love for her religious heritage.

The Hill newspaper on Monday reported that in Pelosi's hometown of San Francisco, in the Sept. 5 issue of the archdiocesan newspaper, Archbishop George Niederauer described her comments as being "in serious conflict" with the church.

He said he has received letters and e-mails from "many Catholics" expressing dismay over Pelosi's remarks, with many of them questioning whether she should be able to receive communion.

Niederauer, former bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, invited Pelosi "into a conversation with me about these matters," The Hill reported.

Pelosi has responded, saying she welcomes the opportunity. "I hope we can meet at your earliest convenience," she wrote to Niederauer, according to The Hill's report.

Aug. 24 on NBC's "Meet the Press" program, Pelosi said "doctors of the church" have not been able to define when life begins.

She also cited the role of individual conscience. "God has given us, each of us, a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions," she said.

Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi, said in a statement defending her remarks that she "fully appreciates the sanctity of family" and based her views on conception on the "views of Saint Augustine, who said, 'The law does not provide that the act (abortion) pertains to homicide, for there cannot yet be said to be a live soul in a body that lacks sensation.'"

But whether or not parishioners choose to accept it, the theology on the procedure is clear. From its earliest days, Christianity has considered abortion evil.

"This teaching has remained unchanged and remains unchangeable," according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. "Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law."