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On Monday morning in Denver, where the Democratic National Convention is underway, Archbishop Charles Chaput told the Associated Press that because of support for abortion, Biden should refrain from taking Communion. The selection of Sen. Joseph Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate is drawing a chorus of disapproval from Catholic intellectual and pro-life leaders because of Biden’s longstanding support for abortion. Most recently, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver has said that Biden should refrain from Communion.

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - New Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden was blasted on Wednesday, in the wake of Nancy Pelosi's much derided remarks to the same effect, for claiming that his radically pro-abortion stance is "totally consistent" with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Biden made the remarks in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) in August of last year, which has received renewed attention in the aftermath of the controversy surrounding Pelosi's remarks. While discussing his desire to attract Catholics to the Democratic Party, Sen. Biden said, "My views are totally consistent with...

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.The latest came Wednesday from Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik, who said Pelosi, D-Calif., "stepped out of her political role and completely misrepresented the teaching of the Catholic Church in regard to abortion."It has been a harsh week of rebuke...

Amid the cascade of words pouring out of Denver this week, none may have more long-term punch than the bubbly Mile High musings of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday's "Meet the Press." Tom Brokaw had asked about Barack Obama saying that deciding when life begins was "above my pay grade." Pelosi showcased the Peter Principle in action. It says that people rise to the level of their incompetence. Her answer showed that the principle has nothing to do with Saint Peter. "I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for...

DELEWARE, August 26, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an interview with Bob Krebs, the Communications Director for the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, to which Senator Joseph Biden belongs, Krebs confirmed that Biden's Bishop will not permit the Senator even if elected Vice President of the United States of America to speak at Catholic schools. When asked for the Bishop's take on Senator Biden and his stand in favor of abortion, Krebs directed LifeSiteNews.com to Bishop Michael Saltarelli's 2004 statement on 'Catholics in Political Life' which, said Krebs, "very plainly states Bishop's position in this matter." In that document Bishop Saltarelli notes...

Joe Biden's voting record on abortion in the United States Senate is likely to cause heartburn for two groups of people: ardent pro-choicers and Catholic bishops. Biden is a Catholic; and yet for the last ten years, according to the National Right to Life Committee, he has voted the "wrong" way 88.5 percent of the time and the "right" way only 11.5 percent of the time. No wonder the bishops will be unhappy. Hardcore pro-abortion types will be unhappy too; for not only has Biden fallen short of a 100 percent pro-choice voting record but, worse still, his few...

Joe Biden supposedly will attract Catholics to the Democratic ticket, but not if he follows Pope Nancy Pelosi for doctrinal guidance. In a profile of Biden for the Christian Science Monitor, Biden credits his Catholicism for his focus on “abuse of power”, but shrugs off the abortion debate as a minor controversy. He even goes on to tell Gail Russell Chaddock that his views on social issues fall completely within Catholic doctrine

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the speaker's position as a "pro-abortion Catholic", not because the Church is unclear on when life begins, as earlier stated, but because Catholics routinely contravene "clear Catholic teaching" against abortion.In a statement praising Pelosi's appreciation for "the sanctity of the family," Brenda Daly, speaking for Pelosi, said, "While Catholic teaching is clear that life begins at conception, many Catholics do not ascribe to that view."In the controversial interview on NBC's Meet The Press that spawned Daly's statement, Pelosi had said,  "The Doctors of the Church...

AS his vice-presidential running mate, Barack Obama chose a baptized Cath olic from blue-collar Scranton, Pa. - Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. But will an abortion-rights supporter really help Obama with Catholic voters? Four years ago, pro-abortion Catholic John Kerry received fewer Catholic votes than had Democrats' 2000 nominee, Protestant Al Gore. In 2004, practicing Catholics were the decisive factor in many swing states. In Ohio, for instance, 65 percent of them voted for Bush, and in Florida President Bush's support from practicing Catholics reached 66 percent. Former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, after visiting numerous parishes in liberal Massachusetts, said...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is a “religious heretic” for suggesting that there is disagreement within the Catholic Church over the definition of conception, former Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.) said Tuesday morning. Beauprez, Colorado chairman of the Coalition for a Conservative Majority, was speaking to Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and other Republicans, who didn’t disagree with the suggestion. “It’s one thing to torture public policy. It’s quite another to be a religious heretic,” said Beauprez. On NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Pelosi told NBC’s Tom Brokaw, in response to a question about when life begins, that...

DELEWARE, August 26, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an interview with Bob Krebs, the Communications Director for the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, to which Senator Joseph Biden belongs, Krebs confirmed that Biden's Bishop will not permit the Senator even if elected Vice President of the United States of America to speak at Catholic schools.When asked for the Bishop's take on Senator Biden and his stand in favor of abortion, Krebs directed LifeSiteNews.com to Bishop Michael Saltarelli's 2004 statement on 'Catholics in Political Life' which, said Krebs, "very plainly states Bishop's position in this matter."In that document Bishop Saltarelli notes that,...

Representative Nancy Pelosi has been a lightning rod for the ire of conservatives for some time, but now she has drawn fire of a different kind. Within the last 24 hours, the archbishops of Denver, New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., along with Bishop William Lori have all publicly upbraided the Speaker of the House for her erroneous comments on the Church’s abortion teaching... Not only was Cardinal Egan shocked, but he went on to say that, “What the Speaker had to say about theologians and their positions regarding abortion was not only misinformed; it was also, and especially, utterly...

In a rare public rebuke of a top politician, the archbishop of Washington said Monday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was incorrect when she recently said the moment of conception has long been a matter of controversy within the Catholic Church. In a release issued Monday night, Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said Pelosi's comments on "Meet the Press" on Sunday "were incorrect." Wuerl noted that Pelosi responded to a question on when life begins by mentioning she was Catholic. The release quoted Pelosi as saying the church has not been able to come with a definition of when...

Bishops say Pelosi misrepresented abortion teaching in TV interview By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairmen of the U.S. bishops' pro-life and doctrine committees criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying she "misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church on abortion" in a nationally televised interview Aug. 24. Pelosi, D-Calif., who is Catholic, in an appearance that day on NBC's "Meet the Press," said for centuries church leaders had not been able to agree on when life begins. A day later, a statement by Cardinal Justin F. Rigali of Philadelphia and Bishop William...

In a rare public rebuke of a top politician, the archbishop of Washington said Monday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was incorrect when she recently said the moment of conception has long been a matter of controversy within the Catholic Church. In a release issued Monday night, Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said Pelosi's comments on "Meet the Press" on Sunday "were incorrect." Wuerl noted that Pelosi responded to a question on when life begins by mentioning she was Catholic. The release quoted Pelosi as saying the church has not been able to come with a definition of when...

Catholic Archbishop Chaput, who was scheduled to lead a pro-life candlelight vigil Monday night here in front of Planned Parenthood, called Mr. Biden's support for abortion rights "seriously wrong," said archdiocese spokeswoman Jeanette De Melo. "I certainly presume his good will and integrity," said the archbishop, "and I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for Communion if he supports a false 'right' to abortion." The archbishop, who was not invited to speak at any convention events in what appeared to be a deliberate snub, told the Associated Press that he would like to speak...

Bishops Respond to House Speaker Pelosi's Misrepresentation of Church Teaching Against Abortion WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Doctrine, have issued the following statement: In the course of a "Meet the Press" interview on abortion and other public issues on August 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion. In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "Since the first century the Church...

On Monday morning in Denver, where the Democratic National Convention is underway, Archbishop Charles Chaput told the Associated Press that because of support for abortion, Biden should refrain from taking Communion. DENVER (CNA) - The selection of Sen. Joseph Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate is drawing a chorus of disapproval from Catholic intellectual and pro-life leaders because of Biden’s longstanding support for abortion. Most recently, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver has said that Biden should refrain from Communion. Over the weekend, CNA spoke with several prominent Catholics regarding Biden’s nomination for the Democratic vice-presidential slot. The well-known Catholic intellectual...

The chairmen of the U.S. bishops' pro-life and doctrine committees criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying she "misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church on abortion" in a nationally televised interview Aug. 24. Pelosi, D-Calif., who is Catholic, said in an appearance that day on NBC's "Meet the Press" that church leaders for centuries had not been able to agree on when life begins. An Aug. 25 statement by Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., said the church since the first century "has affirmed the moral evil...

In a rare public rebuke of a top politician, the archbishop of Washington said Monday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was incorrect when she recently said the moment of conception has long been a matter of controversy within the Catholic Church. In a release issued Monday night, Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said Pelosi's comments on "Meet the Press" on Sunday "were incorrect." Wuerl noted that Pelosi responded to a question on when life begins by mentioning she was Catholic. The release quoted Pelosi as saying the church has not been able to come with a definition of when...