Editorial: Attack on Nancy Pelosi should be San Francisco archbishop’s final act here

Cordileone’s decree was guaranteed to provoke deep chagrin among San Francisco Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Last year, Cordileone joined other bishops in the United States as they pushed to ban President Joe Biden from taking Communion. Pope Francis headed off that divisive idea, stating that Communion “is not the reward of saints, but is the bread of sinners.” He also told pro-choice President Biden that he is a “good Catholic.”

The Vatican’s top doctrinal official, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, ratified the pope’s action, stating that this politicized effort to ostracize the president would “become a source of discord rather than unity within the episcopate and the larger church in the United States.”

Instead, American bishops approved watered-down guidelines that reportedly stated, “It is the special responsibility of the diocesan bishop to work to remedy situations that involve public actions at variance with the visible communion of the Church and the moral law.”

Cordileone has now upped the ante by grandstanding on the issue and picking a fight with the most powerful woman – and second-most powerful Catholic — in American politics. His attack on Pelosi comes as conservative justices on the Supreme Court are poised to play a key role in reversing legal precedent to overturn abortion rights. This decision promises to further polarize American politics and strip away a key health right crucial to preserving the health and safety of tens of millions of women. Many women will die if the court goes through with this decision.

That will apparently be just fine with Cordileone, who prefers to pick partisan fights rather than make the church a place that welcomes people of all political backgrounds and all faiths.

In 2015, he attempted to force teachers and staff at San Francisco’s Catholic schools to condemn gay rights, abortion and birth control as “intrinsically evil.” This led a group of 100 prominent local Catholics to run a full-page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle that called on Pope Francis to replace Cordileone.

“Holy Father, please provide us with a leader true to our values and your namesake,” read the text of the “Appeal to Pope Francis from San Francisco Community Leaders.” “Please replace Archbishop Cordileone.”

“The Archbishop has isolated himself from our community,” read the letter. “He disregards advice from his priests and has brushed aside the deep reservations expressed by our retired priests regarding his actions. He relies instead on a tiny group of advisors recruited from outside our diocese and estranged from their own religious orders. The Archdiocese of San Francisco is threatened by Archbishop Cordileone’s single-issue agenda and cannot survive, let alone thrive and grow, under his supervision. The City of Saint Francis deserves an Archbishop true to our values and to your teachings.”

Seven years later, Cordileone’s efforts to sow division and politicize the faith have intensified. Now, he has trained his sights on Speaker Pelosi, a woman who has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the poor, the suffering and the oppressed —and who is a role model for women all over the world.

Cordileone seeks to deprive her of a key component of her faith, but where is his zeal for punishment and purity when it comes to right-wing politicians? Why don’t Republican Catholics have to fear being cut off from Communion when they vote against health care or funding for the poor? Where was Cordileone’s harsh judgment when right-wing politicians voted this week against a measure to ease the nation’s baby formula shortage?

Pelosi has consistently fought on the morally right side of these issues. Why is she being singled out for punishment in her hometown, especially when she can still receive Communion in Washington, D.C. or Oakland?

The answer is that Cordileone’s chief loyalty is not to Christ, but to the cabal of far-right American bishops led by Raymond Leo Burke, a Catholic prelate who has led a continual campaign to undermine Pope Francis’ authority.

In light of Cordileone’s resurgent efforts to create discord, we repeat the call for Pope Francis to remove him and replace him with a leader who can unify rather than divide. Cordileone’s radical conservative politics might attract more people to the faith in places like Oklahoma or Texas, but his partisan pomposity will win no converts in San Francisco. His placement here was a cruel strategy meant to bedevil our community and set up exactly the kind of destructive political games unfolding today.

It is Nancy Pelosi, not Archbishop Cordileone, who reflects the true spirit of Christian care in the City of St. Francis. For the Catholic Church to continue to thrive here, we need a leader who opens the church’s doors to all, not a small-minded man who locks out his political adversaries.

We appeal to Pope Francis to send a clear message that he, not Cordileone, is the leader of the faith. He can do this by relieving this insubordinate saboteur of his duties in San Francisco and putting an end to his political schemes.

Now more than ever, our nation needs Pelosi’s care and leadership, which are rooted in her deep faith. As such, The Examiner Editorial Board is proud to endorse her for another term in Congress.