In Interview, Nancy Pelosi Criticizes Pope Francis Over China Pact
She also discusses her Catholic faith. the loss of the Catholic vote and clashes with U.S. bishops in the wide-ranging National Catholic Reporter interview.
Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Pope Francis' recently renewed pact with China, telling the National Catholic Reporter in an interview that the Vatican has disregarded the Gospel by permitting the Communist government to meddle with the Roman Catholic Church in China.
The agreement with China gives the Communist government input over the appointment of Catholic bishops in China, a deal that critics say endangers Catholics loyal to Rome who have worshiped in secret for seven decades.
“I'm not too happy about that, and I don't know what they have achieved,” Pelosi said in the interview.
“We have, for decades, seen the suffering of Catholics in China,” Pelosi said. “I have a completely different view” from Pope Francis' approach. “Why should the Chinese government be having a say in the appointment of bishops? I've talked to some folks here and they're, 'Well, we have to keep up with the times.' What?! I don't get that.”
The California Democrat discussed a variety of issues in the wide-ranging December 6 interview in her Capitol Hill office, including:
Enthusiastic support of House members challenging ranking Democrats for committee leadership;
The Democratic Party's loss of the Catholic vote in the presidential election;
Acerbic clashes with the U.S. Catholic bishops, including the archbishop of San Francisco who issued a ban in the San Francisco Archdiocese to prevent her from receiving Communion;
Intimate perspective on her Catholic faith.
Pelosi leapt into the changing power dynamics in Congress. The former speaker, who is close to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said she supports the younger renegades who are challenging the traditional seniority of committee leadership in the House of Representatives.
That marks a reversal from her previous approach in which she defended and vocally supported committee heads. Jeffries in recent weeks has added to the intrigue by refraining from holding back the challengers. Many on Capitol Hill take that silence to be a tacit endorsement of nudging out the old guard.
Pelosi's remarks highlighted a growing movement within the Democratic Party to embrace generational change, particularly in light of the spotlight on age and leadership following President Joe Biden's earlier decision to drop out of the White House race in July.
In the wake of recent electoral losses, she acknowledged the Democratic Party's challenges in retaining Catholic voters, urging deeper analysis to understand the causes. "I saw the National Catholic Reporter saying that Catholics walked away from that," Pelosi noted, but added, "The plural of anecdote is not data."
While conceding the drop in Catholic support, she said low voter turnout might have been at play.
Pelosi framed the Democratic loss of Catholic votes within the social justice teachings of Catholicism, describing the Catholic skepticism of Democrats as “a complete departure from what we were raised to believe was our social contract in terms of being Catholic and our responsibilities to other people.”
Then, she paused, closed her eyes and quoted the Gospel of Matthew:. "'When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was homeless, you sheltered me. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me. When I was in prison, you visited me' — except right now," she said.
"It's really a sad thing," Pelosi added.
The Vatican's Press Office did not respond to a request for comment.
Read the full National Catholic Reporter story.