Whoopi Goldberg raged at the Archbishop of San Francisco during Monday’s episode of “The View” for banning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from receiving holy communion.
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone notified Pelosi and the city’s priests of his decision Friday due to her stance on abortion and stated that it is based in Church teaching that lawmakers must oppose any legislation upholding access to abortion.
“This is not your job, dude!” Goldberg said. “That is not up to you to make that decision … What is the point of communion? It’s for sinners. It’s the reward of saints, but the bread of sinners. How dare you?”
The Catholic code of canon law states any person “who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess.”
Co-host Joy Behar said Pope Francis opposes capital punishment along with abortion, yet Catholic clergyman are not denying the Eucharist to lawmakers in support of the death penalty. (RELATED: Should Priests Deny Biden Communion? Theologians Weigh In)
“I don’t see anybody denying [Republican Texas Gov. Greg] Abbott, who is a Catholic. He’s executed many people,” Behar said. “I don’t see them saying that he can’t receive communion. So the hypocrisy is in the church, too. It also depends on each archdiocese. So this is why Nancy could get communion in Georgetown because that particular archdiocese was okay with it. So everybody’s different.”
Co-host Sara Haines then argued the Catholic Church has “shoved aside” allegations of pedophilia even as the clergy enforce beliefs on abortion.
“That is disgusting to me,” Haines said. “Shame on the church by the way, because communion is also a verb, Eucharist is the noun. Communion is about communing the community of the church, bringing them together … The church in general has had so many things come out about the abuse they hid and those are lives too, if they need to be reminded. Those are living children that now suffer trauma.”
Co-host Ana Navarro said the Catholic Church has lost 20% of attendance since 2000 because of their opposition to birth control, divorce and same-sex marriage. She then told the archbishop that in order to protect children, he should focus on the kids attending his church rather than “sheltering pedophilia.”
Co-host Sunny Hostin chimed in saying Catholic politicians and the Church have shown their “hypocrisy” for strongly opposing abortion while simultaneously backing capital punishment. She said to be pro-life, a politician has to also support gun control.
“I have learned from you ladies, being on this show for 5 years, not to politicize my religion,” she continued. “While I believe that abortion is wrong and I believe that the Catholic catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that pro-life extends from conception through natural death, if you are a practicing Catholic as Bill Barr is, as Greg Abbott is, then you should be pro-life from conception through natural death. The issue I have with these politicians politicizing their religion is the hypocrisy.”
Goldberg then claimed abortion became a political issue due to religion, arguing that politicians are imposing their personal beliefs onto others.
In 2019, Father Robert E. Morey refused Holy Communion to then-presidential candidate Joe Biden for his pro-abortion stance at Saint Anthony Catholic Church in South Carolina.
“Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the Church,” he said. “Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching.”