The John-Henry Westen Show - The real reason why Nancy Pelosi is a pro-abortion ‘Catholic'

00:00:00.760 Nancy Pelosi calls herself a devout Catholic, yet is one of the most pro-abortion politicians

00:00:05.960 in America.

00:00:07.380 Have you ever wondered how she got there?

00:00:09.960 Well, join me for a rather fascinating look into Nancy Pelosi's stance on Catholicism

00:00:14.800 and morality and politics.

00:00:16.380 We'll see the hints she left as to how she got to where she is and what can and should

00:00:22.080 be done about it.

00:00:23.240 Stay tuned.

00:00:30.000 Let's begin, as we always do, with the sign of the cross.

00:00:46.680 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

00:00:50.040 Amen.

00:00:52.220 Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in the news again, touting her Catholic faith.

00:00:57.340 She was asked by a reporter if she hated President Trump, and she lectured the reporter about

00:01:02.660 not hating anyone, and even praying for the President.

00:01:06.180 Have a look.

00:01:07.200 Do you hate the President, Madam Speaker?

00:01:10.080 I don't hate anybody.

00:01:12.380 Representative Collins, the reason I ask you.

00:01:15.360 As a Catholic, I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me.

00:01:24.880 I don't hate anyone.

00:01:26.280 I was raised in a way that is a heart full of love, and always prayed for the President.

00:01:32.060 And I still pray for the President.

00:01:33.840 I pray for the President all the time.

00:01:36.300 So don't mess with me when it comes to words like that.

00:01:40.880 Now, it sounds pretty Catholic.

00:01:42.880 In fact, there are many Catholics who are indeed quite proud of Nancy for standing up for the

00:01:47.480 Catholic values in that impromptu little speech.

00:01:50.080 And yet, Nancy Pelosi is one of the biggest abortion-promoting politicians in America. 1.00

00:01:56.520 Pelosi boasts a 100% voting record from Planned Parenthood and National Abortion Rights Action League.

00:02:03.340 But more than even that, Pelosi has consistently painted her pro-abortion position as consistent

00:02:09.640 with Catholic teaching, and she's done the same with her support for same-sex marriage.

00:02:14.800 In 2013, in response to a question from a reporter about a ban on late-term abortion proposed in Congress,

00:02:24.860 Pelosi said that the issue of late-term abortion is, quote, sacred ground for her.

00:02:30.400 But her most in-depth interview on the subject was with NBC's Tom Brokaw in 2008,

00:02:36.320 where Pelosi tried to make a theological argument about abortion being consistent with Catholic

00:02:42.480 teaching.

00:02:43.420 Have a look.

00:02:44.380 Senator Obama is saying the question of when life begins is above his pay grade, whether

00:02:48.620 you're looking at it scientifically or theologically.

00:02:51.300 If he were to come to you and say, help me out here, Madam Speaker, when does life begin?

00:02:57.020 What would you tell him?

00:02:58.040 I would say that as an ardent practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long

00:03:03.920 time, and what I know is over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able

00:03:09.040 to make that definition, and St. Augustine said at three months.

00:03:16.860 You don't know.

00:03:18.040 The point is, is that it shouldn't have an impact on a woman's right to choose. 1.00

00:03:22.960 Roe v. Wade talks about very clear definitions of when the first trimester, certain considerations,

00:03:32.200 second trimester, not so, third trimester.

00:03:35.480 There's a very clear distinction.

00:03:37.200 This isn't about abortion on demand. 0.89

00:03:39.860 It's about a careful, careful consideration of all factors that a woman has to make with 0.79

00:03:47.560 her doctor and her God.

00:03:49.340 And so I don't think anybody can tell you when life begins.

00:03:53.440 Human life begins.

00:03:55.000 As I say, the Catholic Church for centuries has been discussing this, and there are those

00:04:02.460 who've decided it.

00:04:03.200 The Catholic Church at the moment feels very strongly that it begins at the point of a

00:04:05.880 conception.

00:04:06.140 I understand that, and this is like maybe 50 years or something like that.

00:04:08.960 So again, over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy.

00:04:14.120 But it is also true that God has given us, each of us, a free will and a responsibility

00:04:21.180 to answer for our actions.

00:04:23.680 And we want abortions to be safe, rare.

00:04:27.280 We want to reduce the number of abortions.

00:04:28.800 That's why we have this fight in Congress over contraception.

00:04:32.780 My Republican colleagues do not support contraception.

00:04:36.120 If you want to reduce the number of abortions, and we all do, you must.

00:04:39.900 It would behoove you to support family planning and contraception, you would think.

00:04:46.460 But that is not the case.

00:04:47.820 So we have to take, you know, we have to handle this as respectfully as the sacred ground.

00:04:53.040 And she's done the same with same-sex marriage.

00:04:56.980 And in a 2015 interview with MSNBC's Thomas Roberts, Pelosi said that same-sex marriage

00:05:02.840 is perfectly consistent with Catholic Christianity.

00:05:05.280 In fact, she told Roberts that her grandchildren came with her to receive an award from the Gay

00:05:12.780 and Lesbian Victory Fund to show the young children that, quote, marriage equality is

00:05:17.040 important.

00:05:18.420 Pelosi, who described herself as a faithful Christian and mainstream Catholic, in her words,

00:05:24.000 said that the pre-adolescent grandchildren needed to see and be present at the Gay and

00:05:29.060 Lesbian celebration in order to, quote, give them the image of what we have for all people. 0.97

00:05:34.720 And that meaning the image of the Catholic Church has for all.

00:05:38.720 She also said that same-sex marriage is important.

00:05:41.920 It's important that her grandchildren have the message that, quote, they have been hearing,

00:05:48.740 that is the message from, about gay marriage, that they've been hearing their whole life because

00:05:57.380 they go to Catholic school.

00:05:59.020 She said, matter-of-factly, that same-sex marriage is consistent with the dignity and

00:06:04.380 worth that Catholics attribute to every person. 0.80

00:06:07.740 Have a look.

00:06:09.480 Last night you were honored.

00:06:11.220 It was a great honor that you received here in New York City.

00:06:14.620 We can show the picture of you with your grandkids and I think Tim Gunn, where you received your

00:06:19.740 honor.

00:06:19.940 There it is, last night, from the Victory Fund.

00:06:22.720 And you said you wanted your grandkids there.

00:06:24.400 Oh, it's really important for them to see what the practice of our faith is, the dignity

00:06:30.300 and respect that we have for all people and that equality, marriage equality, is important.

00:06:37.360 They've been hearing this their whole life.

00:06:39.800 They go to Catholic school and this is consistent with the dignity and worth we attribute to every

00:06:47.140 person.

00:06:47.600 But what I found most interesting in my research was that Pelosi left clues as to how she got

00:06:53.360 to where she is today, and they make for a very powerful lesson.

00:06:57.460 Over the years, she's mentioned at least twice that her family was not where her pro-abortion

00:07:02.820 beliefs came from.

00:07:04.600 Speaking with NBC's Chuck Todd in 2019, she said, quote,

00:07:08.120 I have served many years in Congress with members who have not shared my very positive, and my

00:07:14.000 family would say aggressive, position on promoting a woman's right to choose, end quote.

00:07:20.020 But Pelosi went into greater detail in an interview with the National Catholic Reporters Joe Feuerherd

00:07:26.820 in 2003.

00:07:28.680 Asked about abortion, Pelosi said, and I quote,

00:07:30.960 I come myself from a family that does not share my views on choice, end quote.

00:07:38.960 Feuerherd retorted, well, that must make for some interesting dinner table conversations.

00:07:44.020 And part of her reply, Pelosi added, quote,

00:07:47.400 I think there are occasions where they would like me to be less visible, that they don't

00:07:52.560 like to see any disagreement between the church and any of us.

00:07:56.940 Speaking of the children of the family.

00:07:58.780 So, it's not from her family.

00:08:03.380 So, where did she get to be the pro-abortion while still claiming to be devout Catholic

00:08:08.420 Nancy Pelosi that we know today?

00:08:11.260 Well, the answer seems to be the false teaching she received at what was supposed to be a premier

00:08:17.320 Catholic college run by nuns.

00:08:19.940 And as a parent, that saddens me greatly.

00:08:23.580 I'm saddened, especially in light of these lines in Pelosi's memoirs.

00:08:30.660 Quote,

00:08:31.340 My parents didn't raise me to be a speaker, that is the speaker of the house.

00:08:36.060 They raised me to be holy.

00:08:38.160 That was their measure of a successful child.

00:08:41.820 And that's from Nancy Pelosi's Know Your Power, page 27.

00:08:45.620 To me, that's really sad, because as a Catholic parent myself, whose greatest desire for my

00:08:52.580 kids is to be holy, the last thing I want for them to be is confused about the faith, especially

00:08:59.060 in her essential teachings on life and family.

00:09:02.040 And you see, that distortion happened to Nancy Pelosi, despite the best wishes of her parents.

00:09:08.120 And it happened at a private Catholic college that cost a lot of money.

00:09:13.760 And as a Catholic parent myself, with kids in college, that really hurts.

00:09:20.400 Indeed, it seems that Pelosi's parents raised her with the right morals, but her morals were

00:09:26.240 corrupted by corrupt religious who in turn were not disciplined by the hierarchy of the 0.98

00:09:30.940 church. 0.93

00:09:31.260 The first hint that I heard that Pelosi might have been deformed by a false Catholic education

00:09:37.440 was in a comment of hers gushing about Pope Francis in 2013.

00:09:42.260 She said, quote,

00:09:43.340 He's sounding like the nuns.

00:09:45.880 She said of Pope, she was talking, by the way, about Pope Francis's liberal stances.

00:09:51.320 Have a look for yourself.

00:09:53.060 Starting to sound like a nun. 0.71

00:09:55.800 The Pope is starting to sound like the nuns. 0.93

00:09:58.320 His holiness is obviously a very revered figure.

00:10:04.360 I was there for his inauguration.

00:10:07.940 And I, being Catholic, believe that he was chosen Pope by the intercession of the Holy Spirit.

00:10:14.060 So I pay attention to what he says.

00:10:17.220 And I can tell you that there's great joy among Catholics and friends of Catholics as to

00:10:23.420 the respect that his holiness pays to all of God's creation and members of the church and

00:10:30.140 then beyond that.

00:10:31.520 It's really quite remarkable.

00:10:33.360 It's a source of joy to us all.

00:10:35.340 It is remarkable.

00:10:36.300 I'm not sure it's a source of joy to all Catholics simply because I've seen conservative Catholics

00:10:40.020 express some reservations about it.

00:10:43.420 Well, I don't know about them because certainly when it was another Pope who had something else

00:10:47.500 to say, they had something, they wanted to hold us all to it.

00:10:52.480 So what was that false Catholic education she received that so distorted the faith her 0.99

00:10:58.440 family tried to pass on to her?

00:11:00.920 Well, the answer comes in a fascinating article by Kevin Carey published in the 2011 Washington

00:11:07.700 Monthly.

00:11:08.260 It's about Trinity Women's College in Washington, D.C., founded by the Sisters of Notre-Dame

00:11:14.240 de Namur from France.

00:11:17.040 The article inadvertently reveals the rebellion against the church's teaching that the nuns

00:11:22.780 lived and evidently passed on to their students.

00:11:26.140 It reveals lame attempts by the church hierarchy to correct the nuns, all the while allowing them 0.99

00:11:32.660 to continue to deform the faith in many young women.

00:11:36.420 And finally, it reveals the disastrous consequences not only for those women, but for their children

00:11:43.300 and their grandchildren and all of society.

00:11:46.940 In that article, author Kevin Carey speaks of Trinity College alumni, including two of the

00:11:53.100 most prominent female pro-abortion politicians in U.S. history.

00:11:57.640 In addition to Nancy Pelosi, there's also Kathleen Sebelius, who after serving as the governor

00:12:02.680 of Kansas, was the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration.

00:12:08.640 Trinity also boasts many other leading women.

00:12:12.660 And according to Carey, and I quote,

00:12:14.680 When Forbes magazine recently published, that's recently in 2011, by the way,

00:12:19.420 recently published its list of the hundred most powerful women in the world,

00:12:23.400 only Princeton undergraduate alumni outnumbered those of tiny, little-known Trinity College.

00:12:29.900 End quote.

00:12:31.360 The distortion of the faith these nuns passed on to their students is revealed by Carey.

00:12:38.060 He notes that in 1984, two of the nuns from the college, and I quote,

00:12:43.100 joined 23 other nuns and priests and brothers to sign a pro-choice statement that was published

00:12:49.560 in the New York Times.

00:12:51.120 And I continue with the article,

00:12:52.560 The Vatican reacted angrily and forced all the other signers to make public declarations

00:12:59.200 of adherence to Catholic doctrine on abortion.

00:13:01.920 Only the two sisters, and those are the two from Trinity College, refused.

00:13:06.480 End quote.

00:13:08.060 Unbelievable.

00:13:09.800 So, Carey continues, and I quote again,

00:13:12.400 The Vatican demanded that they be dismissed from the order,

00:13:16.120 and the order refused that too.

00:13:19.600 End quote.

00:13:20.200 So, those nuns continued their rebellion until the day the article was written.

00:13:29.680 And I quote, because this is written at a time when Pelosi becomes the speaker.

00:13:33.880 And so, the article says, and I quote,

00:13:35.840 Pelosi attended a special morning mass in Trinity's small stone chapel,

00:13:41.300 sitting in the front pew, surrounded by her many grandchildren.

00:13:46.960 Then he adds that Sister Clayton, one of the current sisters in the order, was in the audience.

00:13:55.620 Anti-abortion protesters picketed outside.

00:13:59.380 A few weeks earlier, President McGuire, that's the president of the college,

00:14:03.120 had preemptively called the Archbishop of Washington to inform him that she had no intention

00:14:09.560 of canceling the mass.

00:14:11.300 End quote.

00:14:13.600 There were, of course, many more of these types of influences on Nancy Pelosi that distorted her faith,

00:14:20.100 including the scandalous example of Father Drennan.

00:14:24.020 But that's for another story.

00:14:26.520 So, how can Catholics address this matter? 0.72

00:14:30.080 Well, there's a simple answer, and that is from Christ himself,

00:14:33.820 that he recommended in Matthew 18.

00:14:37.000 But that type of answer, at least since the Second Vatican Council,

00:14:41.100 has been for the most part ignored or even disdained.

00:14:45.020 It's church discipline.

00:14:47.180 It can start with simply denying someone in public grave sin Holy Communion after they've been warned.

00:14:53.400 But even beyond that, excommunication.

00:14:56.680 All done for the purpose of saving the person's soul.

00:14:59.600 In Matthew 18, our Lord says,

00:15:02.880 If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault,

00:15:07.300 when the two of you are alone.

00:15:09.320 If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.

00:15:12.560 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you,

00:15:16.000 so that every word might be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

00:15:20.320 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

00:15:24.440 And if the offender refuses to listen even to the church,

00:15:27.120 let such a one be to you as a Gentile and tax collector. 0.95

00:15:31.900 That means basically shun them.

00:15:34.280 Put them out of the Catholic community. 1.00

00:15:36.880 Pelosi has been warned and warned and warned for decades

00:15:40.400 about her sin in supporting the killing of unborn children.

00:15:43.980 A sin that is at least as grievous as supporting racism.

00:15:48.900 And imagine how fast you'd be booted out

00:15:52.320 if you supported racism publicly as a politician.

00:15:55.180 Well, in 2008, when she made those comments that we heard earlier

00:16:01.460 about abortion being consistent with the Catholic teaching,

00:16:04.640 about 26 U.S. bishops confronted Pelosi in public statements.

00:16:09.660 Shortly thereafter, in early 2009, when Pelosi was visiting the Vatican,

00:16:13.920 Pope Benedict XVI himself made a point of speaking to her about

00:16:17.620 the need for her to create, and I quote,

00:16:20.740 a just system of laws capable of protecting human life

00:16:23.880 at all stages of its development, end quote.

00:16:27.100 And that interview with Pelosi or that meeting with Pelosi by the Pope

00:16:31.240 was put out by the Vatican press corps.

00:16:34.380 But talk, as they say, is cheap.

00:16:36.780 And many, including Cardinal Raymond Burke,

00:16:39.200 have said over and over again that pro-abortion politicians,

00:16:42.380 and especially Nancy Pelosi, quote,

00:16:44.100 must be denied Holy Communion.

00:16:47.180 This because, in addition to the public scandal that it causes,

00:16:51.220 it harms Nancy's own soul. 0.81

00:16:53.720 If you're wondering about that, read 1 Corinthians 11.29.

00:16:58.020 And also, having Nancy Pelosi publicly receiving Communion

00:17:02.400 distorts the truth, making many think that Christ's church

00:17:05.480 is actually okay with abortion and same-sex marriage.

00:17:08.500 And finally, we can see the harm it's causing also to her own children

00:17:13.220 and grandchildren, who are growing up with this example of false Catholicism, 0.96

00:17:18.880 a faith that is not Catholic at all.

00:17:21.640 It's a false church, and one that leads to eternal damnation, 0.72

00:17:26.140 rather than to eternal life.

00:17:28.560 In 2013, Priests for Life founder Father Frank Pavone

00:17:32.280 wrote a public letter to Pelosi, which gained media attention.

00:17:36.180 In his letter, Pavone writes, and I quote,

00:17:39.780 Mrs. Pelosi, for decades you have gotten away with betraying

00:17:43.260 and misrepresenting the Catholic faith,

00:17:45.180 as well as the responsibilities of public office.

00:17:48.140 He continued,

00:17:49.360 We have had enough of it.

00:17:51.660 Either exercise your duties as a Catholic public servant 1.00

00:17:54.640 and be Catholic,

00:17:56.300 or have the honesty to formally renounce them.

00:18:00.520 End quote.

00:18:01.600 In an interview with Think Progress,

00:18:03.980 Pelosi responded to Father Pavone's letter,

00:18:06.000 saying he was being hysterical.

00:18:08.520 She said, and I quote,

00:18:09.680 The arrogance of it all is like something ancient or medieval.

00:18:14.600 She also said that while she understands

00:18:17.360 what the Catholic Church teaches on abortion,

00:18:19.500 she said, quote,

00:18:20.640 My faith isn't about what their position is.

00:18:24.860 Pelosi insisted, I quote,

00:18:26.520 My faith is very deep and has been my whole life.

00:18:29.580 I love my faith and my faith has nothing to do with whoever he is.

00:18:35.100 He referring to Father Frank Pavone.

00:18:38.000 She added, and I quote,

00:18:39.680 The Church taught me as I was growing up

00:18:42.700 that every person has a free will

00:18:44.720 and has the responsibility to live up to a moral standard.

00:18:48.200 And I respect women's judgment and values to do that. 0.74

00:18:51.660 Whether this priest thinks his judgment should be another woman's judgment 1.00

00:18:56.120 is absolutely ridiculous to me. 0.97

00:18:58.560 But nonetheless, it's what they say. 0.91

00:19:01.120 End quote.

00:19:02.020 She said that her faith is,

00:19:04.620 End quote,

00:19:05.180 About Christ, my Savior.

00:19:07.180 The Church is His Church 0.97

00:19:09.420 and has nothing to do with priests for life.

00:19:12.700 End quote.

00:19:13.120 Father Pavone accused Pelosi of making,

00:19:16.960 Quote,

00:19:17.220 A mockery of the Catholic faith 0.98

00:19:19.740 and of the tens of millions of Americans

00:19:22.720 who consider themselves practicing and respectful Catholics

00:19:26.540 and who think killing of children,

00:19:29.960 whether inside or outside the womb, reprehensible.

00:19:33.360 And I quote again from Father Pavone,

00:19:35.900 Whatever Catholic faith you claim to respect and practice, 0.99

00:19:39.800 It is not the faith that the Catholic Church teaches.

00:19:43.800 He wrote to Pelosi.

00:19:45.380 And he added,

00:19:46.540 And I speak for countless Catholics when I say

00:19:49.120 that it's time for you to stop speaking as if it were.

00:19:52.740 End quote.

00:19:54.200 Will you join the LifeSite staff

00:19:56.460 in praying for Nancy Pelosi's conversion?

00:19:59.460 She was deformed in the faith

00:20:01.380 due to the failure to discipline wayward religious.

00:20:05.340 The same kind of failure to discipline

00:20:07.320 which has led to the sexual abuse crisis

00:20:09.680 in the Church.

00:20:11.420 Let's pray too

00:20:12.580 that the Church once again

00:20:14.140 takes on the hard job

00:20:16.080 of disciplining both laity and clergy,

00:20:19.280 recognizing such discipline

00:20:20.720 as an act of love,

00:20:22.460 as St. Paul says,

00:20:23.960 in order to save the soul.

00:20:26.200 For LifeSite News,

00:20:27.480 this is John Henry Weston

00:20:28.700 and may God bless you.

00:20:31.140 Hello, this is John Henry Weston.

00:20:33.060 I'd like to invite you to subscribe

00:20:34.660 to the John Henry Weston Show YouTube channel

00:20:37.200 if you haven't already done so.

00:20:38.780 There you will find all the past episodes

00:20:41.440 and much more.

00:20:42.720 Thanks again for watching

00:20:43.920 and may God bless you.

The John-Henry Westen Show - December 10, 2019

The real reason why Nancy Pelosi is a pro-abortion ‘Catholic'

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