By Greg Erlandson

Speaking truth to power

It's time for Catholic Americans to make sure pro-abortion leaders know where we stand

Even those few bigots out there who think that Catholics are a bunch of sheep controlled by their clergy had to have been taken aback by the sheer chutzpah of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, third in line for the presidency, and arguably the most powerful female politician in the United States. After a contentious year in which she "explained" to a national television audience that the Church had been unsettled on when life begins, and therefore on abortion, for hundreds of years -- and was roundly criticized by the bishops for saying so -- Pelosi, a Catholic, took it upon herself to visit Pope Benedict XVI.

What she expected from the visit is not entirely clear. Perhaps a photo op, something for the Catholics back home and a trophy to show all those nattering nabobs of doctrine that she really is all right with the Big Guy.

Perhaps she thought that she was protected by protocol and the abiding Vatican tendency to play nice when someone comes to visit. Perhaps she never saw a problem because she believed her position to be entirely legitimate.

What she could not have expected is that the Supreme Pastor would take it upon himself to school her in her responsibilities as a Catholic politician.

She should be honored, in a certain sense, that the Holy Father used their meeting to correct her misperceptions. According to a Vatican statement, he "took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death."

The pope also told her -- and by extension all Catholic politicians, that all Catholics, "especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society," should "work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."

While Pelosi can be eloquent about such laws protecting those in the "middle stages," she has done a terrible job of protecting those who are most vulnerable at the beginning of life.

The Vatican statement was even more striking because of how it was delivered and the context. Pelosi and her entourage were at a weekly public audience, yet there were no photos released. As anyone who has ever been to a papal event knows, there are always photos. The pope did not allow himself to be used for a photo op.

Instead, the Vatican took the opportunity to explicitly publicize what the pope told her, thus using it as an occasion to ratchet up the pressure on those numerous Catholic politicians who claim fidelity to part of the Church's message, but not all of it.

Pelosi herself underscored this by releasing her own statement praising "the Church's leadership in fighting poverty, hunger and global warming."

All true, but the Church does these things out of a great respect for human dignity and God's creation. It is of a piece, and to profess great anguish for the environment or the distant poor while doing nothing to save those beings threatened with death in their mother's womb is to suffer from a moral blindness the pope is dedicated to healing.

Pelosi's bishop last summer said he would be talking to her after her misguided statements on abortion. Apparently, the pope has given him the outline for this conversation.

Some Catholics argued during the last election that there were other issues so grave that although they opposed abortion, they had to vote even for pro-abortion politicians they felt would address other great social needs.

Fair enough. Their votes have been cast, and the election is over.

Now is the time for these same Catholics to speak up. Letting their pro-abortion leaders know the seriousness of the abortion issue is now not only possible but critical. If their opposition to abortion is genuine, now is the time to follow the pope's lead and speak truth to power.

Greg Erlandson is OSV president and publisher.