Pelosi Loses Plausible Deniability

Thanks to Pope Benedict, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can no longer claim that she understands all the nuances of the Roman Catholic Church's view on abortion. She's heard the truth from its highest authority, and that truth is a smack down of all her previous weasel words.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, underscoring the Vatican's ruling on an issue that divides Americans, told U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday that Catholic politicians and legislators cannot back abortion rights.

Pelosi, a powerful U.S. politician who is Catholic and pro-choice, has been accused by U.S. bishops in the past of misrepresenting Church teachings on abortion.

"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural and moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death ..." a Vatican statement said.

It said such teaching "enjoins all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men of goodwill in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development," it said.

Pelosi has tried to argue that theologians in the Church have never been able to agree on when life begins. Any mediocre student of Catholic teaching knows that this is not true. But it is the rare mediocre student who has such a vested interest in clinging to an immoral position for political gain.

The pope has informed her conscience for her, and now it is her free will to follow it or ignore it. I don't expect Pelosi to change her story, which is very sad. The consequences, for her and for the country, will be quite tragic.

UPDATE - George Weigel has much the same take as I do, only he says it so much better HERE.