Salvatore Cordileone, the archbishop of San Francisco, said Speaker Nancy Pelosi may no longer receive Holy Communion in her own diocese after frequently championing abortion rights during the last month.

He released a letter in which he wrote, “I have determined that the point has come in which I must make a public declaration that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion unless and until she publicly repudiates her support for abortion ‘rights’ and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance.”

Also read: Oklahoma’s new abortion ban: Explained

He went on to say that he gets “no pleasure whatsoever in fulfilling my pastoral duty” and that his decision “is purely pastoral, not political.”

Pelosi has recently spoken about her beliefs and the debate over abortion rights. During a conversation in late March in Texas, she identified herself as “very Catholic. Devout. Practicing. All of that.” She stated that she believed the church “would like to throw me out, but I’m not going, because I don’t want to make their day.”

A journalist on C-SPAN in 2008 questioned Pelosi if her views on abortion caused her problems with the church. “Not really,” she said, but “Communion has not been withheld and I’m a regular communicant so that would be a severe blow to me if that were the case.”

Also read: Why is it important to defend Roe v Wade?

Pelosi has not discussed abortion reduction since the leaked opinion on May 2 hinting that the Supreme Court will soon overturn Roe v Wade, but she has maintained that her pro-choice attitude is consistent with Catholic doctrine.

“This [topic] really gets me burned up in case you didn’t notice, because again I’m very Catholic, devout, practicing, all of that. They would like to throw me out. But I’m not going because I don’t want to make their day,” she said earlier in May.

Pelosi met with Pope Francis in 2021, but the Vatican did not say whether abortion was brought up. Pope Francis has equated abortion to hiring a hitman, but he has been careful about advocating that politicians be excluded from receiving communion.

Also read: Roe v Wade: Anti-abortion Catholics clash over judgement overturn

“I have never refused the Eucharist to anyone,” the pope remarked last year, but he did not recall a politician who was vehemently opposed to Church teaching on abortion and came to him for communion.

He described communion as a “gift” rather than a “prize for the perfect.” However, in the same interview, he highlighted that the Catholic Church considers abortion to be homicide.

“Whoever has an abortion kills,” the pope stated. “It is a human life.”

At the time of writing this story, there were no comments available from Pelosi or her office on the matter.