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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she, unlike other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, has not clashed with her church about receiving communion. In an interview on C-SPAN that aired on Sunday, Pelosi was asked about how some church officials have raised objections about whether former presidential contenders -- such as Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) -- should receive communion. Pelosi, a Roman Catholic whose district includes most of San Francisco, said she has not encountered such difficulties in her church. “I think some of it is regional,” she said, “It depends on the bishop of a certain region and fortunately for me, communion has not been withheld and I’m a regular communicant so that would be a severe blow to me if that were the case.” The hour-long interview tackled religion, which is addressed throughout the Speaker’s new book, “Know Your Power.” Pelosi did not directly talk about how her view on abortion is at odds with the Catholic Church. Instead, she noted that there are many issues that the church cares about. Pelosi said the Bible mentions poverty over 2,000 times, and referenced the Gospel of Matthew. She also indicated the importance of recognizing God's creations, citing the environment. The Speaker, who wrote in her book that “my parents didn’t raise me to be Speaker, they raised me to be holy,” said if more people followed the principles of love thy neighbor and do unto others as they would do to you, “the world would be a better place.” C-SPAN host Brian Lamb pointed out that many people on the Internet have falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is a Muslim, “as if that’s a crime.” Lamb asked Pelosi what that says about the nation that some people “automatically equate that with something wrong?” Pelosi said, “I hope they don’t,” and pointed out there are more Muslims in the country than Episcopalians. |
