Cordileone previously responded to Pelosi’s abortion advocacy with private, personal, and pastoral outreach (as he has done numerous times with others since becoming San Francisco’s archbishop). He conveyed his pastoral concern, outlined the far-reaching harm to others, and warned about the spiritual danger to her soul. He sought private dialogue, while cautioning that her continued public promotion of abortion would require a public response.

Pelosi, however, rebuffed the archbishop’s request for a meeting and refused to acknowledge his pastoral concerns. She repeated this behavior multiple times over the course of several months. Cordileone continued to seek a meeting, reiterated Catholic teaching on abortion, asked Pelosi to stop invoking her Catholic faith to justify abortion, and requested that she refrain from presenting herself for Holy Communion. Pelosi often neglected even the courtesy of a reply, and she continued to present herself for Communion.

What will happen now? As for God, the Church, and its pastors, they never give up on anyone, ever. Last fall, Catholics across America bountifully responded to Cordileone’s invitation to pray the rosary for Pelosi and to flood her office with a symbol of life: roses. These efforts will continue. The community of faith will pray that Pelosi responds to the grace of conversion and both publicly and privately changes her ways.