VATICAN CITY (CNS): Pope Benedict XVI met privately with United States House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi and told her that all Catholics, especially those who are lawmakers, must work to protect human life at every stage.
Ms Pelosi, a Catholic Democrat from California, has been criticised by many Catholics for her support for keeping abortion legal.
“His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death,” the Vatican said in a statement about the February 18 meeting.
Natural law and the Church’s own teaching required “all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in co-operation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development”, the statement said.
Ms Pelosi was making an official visit to Italy to meet members of the US military stationed in the country and to discuss common security concerns with Italian Government leaders.
In a statement released by Ms Pelosi’s staff, she said, “In our conversation, I had the opportunity to praise the Church’s leadership in fighting poverty, hunger and global warming, as well as the Holy Father’s dedication to religious freedom and his upcoming trip and message to Israel.”
The papal trip is scheduled for the second week of May.
The speaker has made no secret of her belief that while efforts are needed to reduce the number of abortions in the United States and to help women faced with problem pregnancies, she believes abortion must remain safe and legal.
Coinciding with the 2009 March for Life in Washington, Ms Pelosi issued a statement on January 22 saying, “I will work with President Obama, as I have worked throughout my entire career, to ensure a woman’s right to choose.
As a publicly practising Catholic and a public opponent of efforts to make abortion illegal, Ms Pelosi has come under sharp criticism by some bishops and other Catholics who believe that a politician who supports legalised abortion should not be allowed to receive Holy Communion.
