CNN isn’t known for its accuracy, and host Jim Sciutto only added to the network’s faltering reputation on Sunday over a false claim he made about Pope Francis.
In criticizing the Archbishop of San Francisco for announcing that he will henceforth be denying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Holy Communion over pro-abortion stance, Scuitto said that runs afoul of the pope’s wishes.
Except that it doesn’t, actually.
Sciutto shared an article from the San Francisco Chronicle on Twitter reporting on the archbishop’s decision, in which he added: “12 years of Catholic school, altar boy, family deeply involved in our church, and never saw anyone banned from receiving communion. This is a deep fissure in the church — and a position Pope Francis himself doesn’t support.”
12 years of Catholic school, altar boy, family deeply involved in our church, and never saw anyone banned from receiving communion. This is a deep fissure in the church – and a position Pope Francis himself doesn’t support. https://t.co/8bdFMZ6NzX
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) May 20, 2022
The Daily Wire notes:
But Pope Francis did not say that he did not support individual pastors making the decision whether or not to deny access to the sacrament in specific cases — in fact, that’s exactly what he told them they must do.
He addressed the issue last September, telling journalists onboard the Papal plane that Catholics who supported abortion were “outside the community” and that the sacrament of Communion was for those who were “in the community,” or not estranged from it.
He argued that pastors should make those decisions themselves — and was careful to note that it was not about condemnation but about caring for them as parishioners.
“And what should the pastor do? He shouldn’t go around condemning. And he must also be a pastor with those who are excommunicated, and be so with God’s style, which is closeness, compassion and tenderness,” the pope noted.
The head of the Catholic Church reasoned that though some people may be temporarily estranged, they are still “children of God and need our pastoral action.”
Francis did reserve harsher terms for abortion, though. He said it is “more than a problem: It’s a homicide. No middle terms. Whomever does an abortion, kills.”
Later, he compared seeking an abortion to “hiring a hitman” to solve an issue. And he said the Church could not accept abortion because to do so would be akin to accepting “daily homicide.”
“And Pelosi is certainly not the first Catholic politician to have her access to the sacrament restricted,” The Daily Wire added. “Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has been barred from Communion in his home diocese in Springfield, Illinois, for nearly two decades.
“In 2004, then then-Father Kevin Vann (now Bishop of Orange, California) informed Durbin that because of his pro-abortion stance, he would not be allowed to receive Communion in his home church,” the report continued.
Durbin responded to the ban by accusing the Church of “using the Eucharist for political purposes.”
