On December 14, on the CNN show, “Inside Politics,” Nancy Pelosi said, “Yes, I’m a liberal Democrat, but I’m a conservative Catholic.” Her comment was also cited in the next day’s edition of USA Today.
William Donohue found her comments amusing and told the media what he thought about them:
“Nancy Pelosi, the new Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, has voted against school vouchers and the Faith-Based Initiative. When it comes to abortion, no one in the U.S. Congress has a more extreme record than she does. Whether the issue is parental consent or partial-birth abortion, she can always be counted on to deliver a proabortion vote. Yet she calls herself a ‘conservative Catholic.’ It would be instructive to know what she considers a liberal Catholic to be.
“It’s actually worse than this. The October 12 edition of the PBS program, ‘To the Contrary,’ showed Pelosi playing host to anti-Catholics. Frances Kissling and other staff members of the notoriously anti-Catholic organization Catholics for a Free Choice, were featured walking out of Pelosi’s office after a lobbying session.
“Pelosi’s contacts with these anti-Catholics is nothing new: in 1995 she was critical of the U.S. bishops for blasting Kissling’s outfit as anti-Catholic. At that time, the bishops objected to the inclusion of Kissling’s group at the U.N. Conference on Women that was to be held in Beijing. In reference to Kissling, William Cardinal Keeler, then head of the bishops’ conference, said ‘To use the name Catholic to promote the taking of innocent life is offensive.’ Pelosi defended Kissling saying ‘Many women are concerned about freedom of speech and association at the conference. Accreditation should not be a politicized process.’ It is not surprising, then, that Pelosi refuses to condemn the DNC for its support for Kissling’s group today.
“In short, Pelosi’s spin game is insulting. No conservative Catholic we know okays the killing of kids 80 percent born.”
We are proud to say that Baltimore media-legend Les Kensolving picked up on Donohue’s remarks at a White House press conference. He asked White House Deputy Press Secretary Scott McClellan whether President Bush agreed with Pelosi’s “Catholic conservative” claim or with Donohue’s criticisms of her. McClellan sidestepped the question but took the opportunity to reiterate President Bush’s opposition to partial-birth abortion.
