Defensor Fidei

It's nice to see the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy finally start enforcing Church doctrine. For too many years, Church leaders have stood idly by while nominally Catholic politicians have at best passively accepted abortion (see, e.g., Mario Cuomo) and at worst actively promoted it (see, e.g., Nancy Pelosi).

Archbishop Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. recently castigated Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for her comments on Meet the Press that misrepresented Church teaching as to when life begins.

Archbishop Chaput of the Archdiocese of Denver took down presumptive Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) for his pro-abortion position. Archbishop Chaput went so far as to state that Sen. Biden should not present himself for Communion.

Much of this is "inside baseball" for those who are not Catholic. However, whether or not you agree with the Church's position on abortion, the Church's position on the issue is clear. Abortion is never acceptable under any circumstances. If Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Biden do not wish to follow the Church's teachings, they are free not to do so. However, as the Archbishops remind us, they are not entitled to present themselves as Catholics and mislead the faithful as to the Church's true positions.

Would that more Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops would uphold Church teachings in their flocks.

UPDATE: Edward Cardinal Egan, of the Archdiocese of New York, joins his fellow prelates condemning Rep. Pelosi's dissemination of her erroneous interpretations of Church teaching on abortion. Are you paying attention, Archbishop Niederauer of Rep. Pelosi's home Archdiocese of San Francisco?