Nancy Pelosi cites the death penalty in push back against San Francisco archbishop who denied her communion over abortion rights

On Friday, May 19, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of the San Francisco archdiocese announced that 82-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — a lifelong Catholic — would be denied communion because of her vocal support of abortion rights. And Pelosi is pushing back, arguing that politicians who support the death penalty continue to receive communion even though the Catholic Church has an official position against capital punishment.

Cordileone’s edict comes at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to overturn Roe v. Wade. Justice Samuel Alito, in a leaked majority draft opinion, argues that the 1973 right-to-privacy decision — which legalized abortion nationwide in the United States — was wrongly decided. Pelosi has made it clear that she is adamantly opposed to overturning Roe.

In a letter to Pelosi, Cordileone told her “not to present yourself for Holy Communion” and warned that she will be turned away if she does.

Pelosi spoke out against Cordileone’s decision during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” telling host Joe Scarborough — a Never Trump conservative and former GOP congressman — “I wonder about the death penalty, which I’m opposed to. So is the church, but they take no actions against people who may not share their view.”

The House speaker argued that practicing Catholics should be able to agree to disagree about abortion.

“We just have to be prayerful,” Pelosi told Scarborough. “We have to be respectful. I come from a largely pro-life Italian- American Catholic family, so I respect people’s views about that. But I don’t respect us foisting it onto others.”

Pelosi added, “Now, our archbishop has been vehemently against LGBTQ rights. He led the way in some of the issues, an initiative on the ballot in California. So, this decision.… is very dangerous in the lives of so many of the American people. They’re not consistent with the Gospel of Matthew.”

Cordileone’s order only applies to Catholic churches within that archdiocese in San Francisco. But in order for the decision to be overturned, a direct intervention by the Vatican itself would be needed.

Watch the video of Pelosi on "Morning Joe' below: