A coalition of environmental organizations under the name Zero Waste Massachusetts released a report Thursday morning that examines the effectiveness of waste bans, and calls on officials in Massachusetts to demand stricter enforcement of existing rules.

The state Department of Environmental Protection implemented waste ban rules in 1990, prohibiting materials such as paper, cardboard, glass, metal and wood from being deposited into landfills and incinerators, which can lead to pollution and public health problems.

But the coalition’s new report claims that banned materials account for about 40% of the waste burned and buried in Massachusetts. The state disposed of 5.5 million tons of waste in 2019, and the report says more than 2 million tons of waste could have been recycled instead.

Massachusetts has only six landfills — and almost all are due to reach capacity by 2030, according to Keep Massachusetts Beautiful, a Keep America Beautiful affiliate focused on waste reduction and recycling.

“The bottom line is: this should not be hard,” said Elizabeth Saunders of Clean Water Action, which is one of the Zero Waste Massachusetts organizations. “There are many environmental problems that are incredibly complicated to solve, but this is straightforward. We could drastically reduce waste in Massachusetts by doing the basics – enforcing the long established DEP waste bans.”

The report, which was released Thursday morning, compares the implementation of Massachusetts’ ban to three municipalities — the island of Nantucket here in Massachusetts and the cities of Seattle and San Francisco — and one state, Vermont.

Nantucket developed strict waste bans in 1995. Among other strategies, the town banned traditional curbside trash bins. The Department of Public Works requires residents and waste haulers to separate waste into three streams: recycling, compost and other waste, stored in separate bins. In addition, the DPW requires that all waste be disposed of in clear bags, which makes inspections of disposed waste easier, the report says.

In 2018, the most recent reporting year, 12% of what ended up in Nantucket landfills consisted of banned materials, compared to the 40% statewide.

In each of the four areas explored in the study, officials implemented separated waste streams and education programs either for the public or for waste haulers.

Based on the study results, Zero Waste Massachusetts recommended that MassDEP better enforce the state’s ban.

The coalition called on the state agency to require waste haulers to inspect trash bins and issue warnings and financial penalties for noncompliance. The state should also devote more resources to waste ban inspections by hiring additional inspectors whose sole job is to enforce the bans, according to another recommendation.

Using Nantucket’s policies as reference, the coalition also recommends mandating the use of clear trash bags and instituting waste stream separation. Another important piece of their strategy is a multilingual public education campaign, which the report says will help all residents understand the MassDEP regulations.

MassDEP did not respond to requests for comment about its waste ban enforcement in time for publication.

Executive director of MASSPRIG, Janet Domenitz, said the report was just the beginning of a process of working with MassDEP and lawmakers to better enforce the bans.

“If you walk down the street and ask 10 people if they know what items are banned from disposal in Massachusetts, maybe one of them will know,” she said. “We can’t fix what we don’t recognize. This is our first step in outreach to everyone from the DEP to lawmakers and everyday people.”

Domenitz said Zero Waste Massachusetts wants to meet with MassDEP to discuss their recommendations, and plans to organize a webinar on the topic. Domenitz herself is on the Solid Waste Advisory Committee at the department, and said she will bring up the results of the report at their next meeting.

Additionally, she said the timing of November’s upcoming election provides the coalition with the opportunity to “reach the next group of decision makers in Massachusetts and make sure they pay attention to this issue.”

“The next governor of Massachusetts needs to make reducing waste a top priority,” said Janet Domenitz of MASSPIRG. “Disposing of waste that could be reused or recycled harms our environment and health, adds to climate change, and is literally throwing away our tax dollars which subsidize disposal. We need enforcement of these bans, and we need a more ambitious plan to make Massachusetts a zero-waste state.”

Zero Waste Massachusetts is made up of the Conservation Law Foundation, Clean Water Action, Community Action Works and MASSPIRG.

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In a letter to Pelosi released Friday afternoon, the archbishop wrote that he had informed the California Democrat that “should you not publicly repudiate your advocacy for abortion ‘rights’ or else refrain from referring to your Catholic faith in public and receiving Holy Communion, I would have no choice but to make a declaration, in keeping with canon 915, that you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

“As you have not publicly repudiated your position on abortion, and continue to refer to your Catholic faith in justifying your position and to receive Holy Communion, that time has now come,” he continued. “Therefore, in light of my responsibility as the Archbishop of San Francisco to be ‘concerned for all the Christian faithful entrusted to [my] care’ (Code of Canon Law, can. 383, §1), by means of this communication I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance.”

CNN has reached out to Pelosi’s office for comment.

Last year, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops voted overwhelmingly to approve a document that fell far short of refusing Holy Communion to President Joe Biden or others who support abortion rights, something conservatives in the Church have pushed for in spite of guidance from Pope Francis. Biden, while visiting Italy last year, said Pope Francis told him he was happy he was a “good Catholic” and said he should continue receiving Communion.

Biden, who is a lifelong devout Catholic, was denied Communion in 2019 at a Catholic church in South Carolina over his support for abortion rights.

Pope Francis has spoken out against the moves by some American bishops to permit individual bishops to deny communion to politicians who support abortion rights. The Communion refusal movement is driven by a more conservative wing of the Catholic Church.

CNN’s Tom Foreman contributed to this report.

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If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

· Air Products and Chemicals Inc.’s chosen warehouse developer, Prologis Inc., will have to wait until July 13 for a final decision by Upper Macungie Township’s zoning hearing board on 2.61 million square feet of warehouses. 

· Chubby’s of Southside Easton has added Krispy Krunchy Chicken to its offerings and name.

· Curaleaf Holdings Inc., which operates in the U.S. and Europe, will open a medical-marijuana dispensary at 1801 Airport Road, Hanover Township.

· Habitat for Humanity, which has “ReStores” that sell new and lightly used furniture, has leased 30,000 square feet at the South Mall.

· Nat Hyman’s bid to convert an old warehouse at 938 Washington St. in Allentown into 48 apartments did not win zoning hearing board approval this week after neighbors said more housing would make an on-street parking shortage worse.

· Members 1st Federal Credit Union opened a new branch this week at 5605 Hamilton Blvd, Trexlertown. It’s one of five planned for the Lehigh Valley. 

· A Turkish restaurant has relocated from one downtown to another, taking its fresh ingredients and cozy atmosphere from Nazareth to 200 Main St., Tatamy.

· The Tennessee Titans have chosen Allentown-based Shift4 Payments to handle payments at Nissan Stadium.

· Wells Fargo Bank held ribbon-cutting at its downtown Allentown branch at 740 Hamilton St.

· The Wiz Kidz outlet at the Madison Farms residential/retail development in Bethlehem Township will hold a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting at noon on July 15.

· Bad Biscuit Company, which offered breakfast with scratch-made biscuits, freshly baked pastry and local, small-batch artisan coffee, said it will cease operations at 16 Columbia Ave. in Reading after its July 1 hours.

· FastBridge Fiber has announced it will build an all-fiber cable network that will offer ultra-fast internet in the Reading area.

· Hamid Chaudhry has said he no longer plans to move forward with pursuing a food truck park he previously proposed on the site of the former Sheetz convenience store and gas station in Exeter Township at 6600 Perkiomen Ave. (Route 422 East). 

· The Maxatawny Township Planning Commission has OK’d a proposal for a Mavis Discount Tire store in the Kutztown Road shopping center that features a Giant supermarket.

· Valentino’s Italian restaurant has gotten Maxatawny Township’s approval to remain open when the state transportation department takes one-third of its parking lot to build a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Route 222 and Long Lane.

· Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson, under new ownership, will hold a “Grand Re-Opening Bash” July 9 and July 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

· Sauce West End plans to open in a former Rita’s Italian Ice, just off Route 209 across from the Tractor Supply store in Brodheadsville.

· The Surgery Center of Pottsville, which offered medical procedure services for 16 years in Cressona Mall. will close June 28.

· Wells Fargo has closed its branch office in Langhorne, near the intersection with Maple Avenue.

· The latest PrimoHoagies location in New Jersey held a grand opening at 1930 State Route 57, Hackettstown.

· A new Tractor Supply Co. store in Warren County will have its grand opening in the former Toys ‘R’ Us store in Pohatcong Plaza on July 9.

· Hunter Pocono Peterbilt plans to move Pocono Township operations to Stroudsburg.

· Coal Winery and Kitchen at 81 Broad St., Bethlehem, has closed as its owner searches for a new location for the business, according to its Facebook page. 

· Lowhill Township supervisors approved a 312,120-square-foot commercial warehouse and distribution center on a 43.4-acre tract on the west side of Route 100, south of the Kernsville Road intersection.

· The Mint Gastropub at 1223 W. Broad St., Bethlehem, announced that it has temporarily closed to undergo a merger with a “well-known restaurant group” from Bethlehem.

· The Slatington Farmers Market opened its 28,000-square-foot showroom, which includes space for 53 vendors, as well as a 4,000-square-foot event space.

· St. Luke’s University Health Network opened a new pediatric inpatient unit next to the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem.

· 25th Asian House opened at the location of the former Tin Tin Chinese restaurant in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township.

· The Chick-Fil-A in Broadcasting Square shopping center in Spring Township was razed to make way for a new, expanded facility for the popular chicken sandwich restaurant.

· Plans for drive-thru locations of a Chipotle and a Starbucks at the intersection of Ivy League Drive and Kutztown Road were rejected by Maxatawny Township planners.

· Cumru Township plannes reviewed preliminary plans for NorthPoint-Morgantown Commerce Center, a 738,720-square-foot warehouse to be built on 75.2 acres at Morgantown Road (State Route 10) and Freemansville Road.

· Kutztown University has plans to expand its historic Poplar House to 13,161 square feet with an addition around its side and back, but keep the 129-year-old structure intact.

· A wine store and beverage outlet could be coming to a new two-unit building along the commercial strip of Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Lehighton, Carbon County.

· ChristianaCare, a Delaware health care organization, has announced it will buy the former Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Chester County.

· Garden of Health Inc. celebrated the opening of the food bank’s new warehouse at 201 Church Road, North Wales, in Montgomery County.

· Silverline Trailers Inc. opened its first location in Pennsylvania and in the Northeast at 223 Porter Road, Pottstown, where it sells utility, cargo, dump, equipment and car hauler trailers. 

· A new smoothie and bowl restaurant, Sips & Berries, opened at 285 Maple Ave., Harleysville, in Montgomery County.

· Terrain on the Parkway offers 160 new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at 1625 Lehigh Parkway East in Allentown. 

· Lehigh Valley native Don Wenner is moving his real estate investment and finance firm DLP Capital from Bethlehem to Allentown at 835 W. Hamilton St.

· While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30.

· If you’re in the market for sterling silver jewelry, minerals and semi-precious gemstones, C& I Minerals is now operating at the South Mall at 3300 Lehigh St. in Allentown.

· The Allentown-based utility company PPL Corp. bought a major Rhode Island utility.

· Ownership at Martellucci’s Pizzeria in Bethlehem has changed, but Paul and Donna Hlavinka and their family are running the pizza place at 1419 Easton Ave., just as it has been operated for 49 years. 

· Dr. Jacob Kasprenski’s new Kasprenski Family Eye Care opened at 1088 Howertown Road, Catasauqua.

· Josie’s New York Deli in downtown Easton closed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a June 13 Historic District Commission meeting approved a request for a new sign at its building at 14 Centre Square. 

· Zekraft cafe has opened its second location in the Easton Silk Mill in Easton. The first Zekraft restaurant was opened in Bethlehem. The restaurants’ menus change frequently, with a focus on local ingredients. 

· Manta Massage at 319 Main St., Emmaus, will hold its grand opening on July 10 starting at 11 a.m. 

· The former Iron Lakes Country Club, constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, will operate at 3625 Shankweiler Road in North Whitehall Township under its new name, The Club at Twin Lakes. 

· Prologis, a titan in the logistics industry, will own and operate three warehouses proposed in Upper Macungie Township at the former Air Products headquarters campus at 7201 Hamilton Blvd. 

· Lehigh Valley Health Network ceremonially opened its first Carbon County hospital — a $78 million, 100,578-square-foot facility at 2128 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Mahoning Township.

· Pocono Township commissioners voted to accept Swiftwater Solar’s preliminary final plan for the $111 million, 80-megawatt field on a private 644-acre site on top of Bear Mountain that would include about 200,000 solar panels.

· Firetree Ltd. wants to expand its in-patient rehab operation at the former Sands Ford auto dealership at 440 N Claude A Lord Blvd. (Route 61), Pottsville.

· A Dunkin’ in Schuylkill County located at 400 Terry Rich Blvd., St. Clair, has become just the fourth location of the donut and coffee chain to go entirely digital. 

· The Conservatory music school in Bucks County will close after 34 years, and school officials say the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause. The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30.

· A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Arby’s will be built on the site of the former Ahart’s Market on Route 22 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

· Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce offices and the Unity Bank Center for Business & Entrepreneurship will be located at 119 Main St., Flemington. 

· Honeygrow opens Quakertown location, next to Chipotle on Route 309, on June 3.

· Dunkin’ reopens remodeled restaurant at 1174 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township

· Muse Modern Med Spa at 325 Fifth St. in Whitehall Township  will hold a grand opening June 4.

· Around Again, a consignment store, opened at 154 S. Main St., Phillipsburg

· Steak and Steel Hibachi, a restaurant in the works at 44 W. Walnut St., Bethlehem, still plans on opening late this summer. 

· Take It Outdoors Recreation Hub has moved to a spot along the Schuylkill River Trail at Riverfront Park in Pottstown, Montgomery County

· Pedego Electric Bikes has a new outlet in Lambertville, N.J. at 13 N. Union St.

· Amanda Vachris has opened a new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St. in Schuylkill Haven.

· Easton’s new West Ward Market will open Wednesday and be open on Wednesday’s through the summer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market, created by the Greater Easton Development Partnership, will sell fresh produce on 12th Street, next to Paxinosa Elementary School.

· Ciao Sandwich Shoppe is adding a second location, this time on College Hill in Easton. Ciao plans to open at 325 Cattell St. in late summer. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St

· Ma’s Crepes and Cakes will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting June 16 at 46 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. The celebration starts at 5 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5:45 p.m. 

· Bethlehem’s Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city’s historic district. The business was open for nine years as a retail outlet at Broad and Center streets, before announcing in March that it would close the storefront April 3 and “go back to its origins as a wholesale business.”

·The Beef Baron on Catasauqua Road in Bethlehem is closed indefinitely for renovations

· The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St.

· St. John Chrysostom Academy, an Orthodox school serving grades 1-9 starting this fall, held a grand opening at its St. Francis Center, Bethlehem, campus.

· Easton Commons, a shopping center anchored by Giant Foods at 2920 Easton Ave., Bethlehem Township, has a new name: The Shops at Bethlehem.

· Carbon County is getting a taste of Brazil at Uai Brasil BBQ at 315 Lehigh Ave. in Palmerton.

· The Keystone Pub in Bethlehem Township, at 3259 Easton Avenue, has reopened after a lengthy and expensive renovation. 

· The Trading Post Depot opened at 401 Northampton St., Easton. The rustic furniture store makes custom tables for dining rooms, desktops, conference centers and more.

· The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante opened at its 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg, location. 

· Ciao! Sandwich Shoppe to open second location on College Hill in Easton, replacing The Kettle Room

· Rene and Grisellies Benique have opened Ezekiel 47 Cafe at 10 S. Fifth Ave., off Fifth and Penn avenues, in West Reading. 

· Alter Ego Salon and Day Spa in Emmaus is holding a grand opening Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at noon. 

· Origen Latin Fusion has opened at the site of the former Tomcat Cafe in Sinking Spring, Berks County. 

· Sellersville Senior Residences will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 24. The Bucks County affordable-housing community for adults 55 and older has 50 apartments, with eight allocated for people with behavioral health needs.

· The House and Barn in Emmaus has opened its Shed outdoor dining and cigar bar area. The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus.

· Realtor Amanda Vachris and the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at Vachris’s new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St., Schuylkill Haven, at 4 p.m. on May 24.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante will hold a grand opening on Friday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m. The 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg.

· First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will hold a grand opening at its new headquarters in Trexlertown, 6126 Hamilton Blvd., on May 18.

· Vinyl Press Signs & Graphics has relocated within Emmaus. The new site is 15 S. Second St., not far from the former Sixth Street location.

· Pedro’s Cafe in Emmaus to close

· SV Sports (formerly Schuylkill Valley Sports) to close Quakertown location

· Flemington DIY will host a Grand Re-Opening on May 14 at 26 Stangl Road, Flemington. The celebration will kick off at 10 a.m. 

· Elpedio’s Ristorante at Seipsville opened at 2912 Old Nazareth Road in Easton. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday.

· Uai Brazil opened at 315 Lehigh Ave, Palmerton, offering both a seated or buffet option. 

· Colombian Mex Restaurant opened at 107 E Union Blvd in Bethlehem, offering traditional Colombian cuisine. 

· Precision Ink opened at 161 W Berwick St. in Easton. 

· King Wing opened a location in Bethlehem at 129 E. Third St., serving wings and sandwiches.  

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WASHINGTON (RNS) — Two days after Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco announced he would bar her from receiving the Eucharist in her home city due to her stance on abortion rights, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly received the sacrament at a Catholic church in the nation’s capital.

According to Politico’s Playbook, Pelosi received Communion on Sunday (May 22) during Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, a parish where President Joe Biden has also attended services. Footage from the church’s live stream of the service shows a person in an orange jacket resembling Pelosi coming forward as the Eucharist is being distributed and walking away behind other worshipers.

It’s not unusual for Pelosi, a Catholic who often discusses her faith, to attend Mass, but her decision to receive the Eucharist at Holy Trinity amounted to a rebuke of Cordileone, who is well known for his conservative and sometimes controversial views.

According to the Rev. John Beal, a canon lawyer and professor at the Catholic University of America, Cordileone’s ban is not believed to affect Pelosi’s ability to take Communion outside of churches under the archbishop’s purview.

“It applies only to ministers, ordained and non-ordained, in the Archdiocese of San Francisco,” Beal told Religion News Service in an email, noting that it applies to diocesan leaders as well as those who belong to a religious order. “It does not apply outside the Archdiocese.”

RELATED: Citing abortion rights, San Francisco Archbishop bars Pelosi from Communion

Several conservative bishops voiced support for Cordileone’s decision after his Friday announcement, but Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the leader of the Archdiocese of Washington, is one of several who have signaled that they don’t have any plans to deny Communion to politicians dissenting from church teaching . In 2020, when bishops and other Catholics began debating whether to deny Communion to Biden, a Democrat who backs abortion rights, Gregory told RNS he would continue to offer the president the sacrament.

“I don’t want to go to the table with a gun on the table first,” he said.

Asked if the policy remains in place for Pelosi as well, representatives for the Washington archdiocese did not immediately respond.

In this Sunday, April 12, 2020, file photo, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone celebrates Easter Mass, which was livestreamed, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Pope Francis met with Pelosi at the Vatican last year and in the past told reporters he has never denied anyone the Eucharist. After the pontiff met with Biden at the Vatican in October, the president said the pope told him to “keep receiving communion” despite heated debate about the issue among US bishops at the time.

Francis has not backed away from the church’s longstanding opposition to abortion. On Sunday, the pope celebrated a group participating in an Italian anti-abortion demonstration and stated that life “is always sacred and inviolable, and we cannot silence the voice of conscience.”

The Rev. Benjamin Hawley, a priest at Holy Trinity, mentioned the back-and-forth over abortion and communion in his Sunday homily, wrapping his sermon around a theme of God’s love. Hawley singled out three things he described as “weapons of mass destruction” that are “destroying our civic and church cultures” — exclusion, repression and scorn.

“Inhabitants of these latter cultures think they can solve the challenges of immigration at home, radical Islam abroad, abortion, Latin Mass, communion for political figures, coastal elites, and many others by excluding, repressing and scorning one group to leave their own group standing — perhaps as a white evangelical nation, a smaller, purer church, or coastal elites become national,” he said.

RELATED: Pope Francis meets with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Vatican

Hawley called for conservative and liberal Catholics and all Americans to come together, while admitting that major obstacles stood in the way in both the political and religious spheres.

“Worst of all for culture, country and church are the election deniers and Vatican II deniers who would exclude, repress and scorn all of us to gain the authoritarian control of culture, country and church,” he said.

In 2004, as then Senator John Kerry ran for president, a smattering of clerics threatened to bar him from taking Communion, though he was never denied the sacrament. During his White House run, Biden was reportedly denied Communion at a South Carolina parish in 2019 by a priest who justified the refusal by citing Biden’s support for abortion rights.

The post Banned from Communion in San Francisco, Pelosi receives Eucharist in Washington appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

washington — Two days after San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone announced he would bar her from receiving the Eucharist in her home city due to her stance on abortion rights, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly received the sacrament at a Catholic church in the nation’s capital.

According to Politico’s Playbook newsletter, Pelosi received Communion on May 22 during Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, a parish where President Joe Biden has also attended services. Footage from the church’s live stream of the service shows a person in an orange jacket resembling Pelosi coming forward as the Eucharist is being distributed and walking away behind other worshipers.

It’s not unusual for Pelosi, a Catholic who often discusses her faith, to attend Mass, but her decision to receive the Eucharist at Holy Trinity amounted to a rebuke of Cordileone, who is well known for his conservative and sometimes controversial views.

According to Fr. John Beal, a canon lawyer and professor at The Catholic University of America, Cordileone’s ban is not believed to affect Pelosi’s ability to take Communion outside of churches under the archbishop’s purview.

“It applies only to ministers, ordained and non-ordained, in the Archdiocese of San Francisco,” Beal told Religion News Service in an email, noting that it applies to diocesan leaders as well as those who belong to a religious order. “It does not apply outside the Archdiocese.”

Several conservative bishops voiced support for Cordileone’s decision after his May 20 announcement, but Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the leader of the Archdiocese of Washington, is one of several who have signaled that they don’t have any plans to deny Communion to politicians dissenting from church teaching. In 2020, when bishops and other Catholics began debating whether to deny Communion to Biden, a Democrat who backs abortion rights, Gregory told RNS he would continue to offer the president the sacrament.

“I don’t want to go to the table with a gun on the table first,” he said.

Asked if the policy remains in place for Pelosi as well, representatives for the Washington archdiocese did not immediately respond.

Pope Francis met with Pelosi at the Vatican last year and in the past told reporters he has never denied anyone the Eucharist. After the pontiff met with Biden at the Vatican in October, the president said the pope told him to “keep receiving communion” despite heated debate about the issue among US bishops at the time.

Francis has not backed away from the church’s longstanding opposition to abortion. On Sunday, the pope celebrated a group participating in an Italian anti-abortion demonstration and stated that life “is always sacred and inviolable, and we cannot silence the voice of conscience.”

Br. Benjamin Hawley, a priest at Holy Trinity, mentioned the back-and-forth over abortion and communion in his Sunday homily, wrapping his sermon around a theme of God’s love. Hawley singled out three things he described as “weapons of mass destruction” that are “destroying our civic and church cultures” — exclusion, repression and scorn.

“Inhabitants of these latter cultures think they can solve the challenges of immigration at home, radical Islam abroad, abortion, Latin Mass, communion for political figures, coastal elites, and many others by excluding, repressing and scorning one group to leave their own group standing — perhaps as a white evangelical nation, a smaller, purer church, or coastal elites become national,” he said.

Hawley called for conservative and liberal Catholics and all Americans to come together, while admitting that major obstacles stood in the way in both the political and religious spheres.

“Worst of all for culture, country and church are the election deniers and Vatican II deniers who would exclude, repress and scorn all of us to gain the authoritarian control of culture, country and church,” he said.

In 2004, as then Senator John Kerry ran for president, a smattering of clerics threatened to bar him from taking Communion, though he was never denied the sacrament. During his White House run, Biden was reportedly denied Communion at a South Carolina parish in 2019 by a priest who justified the refusal by citing Biden’s support for abortion rights.

The post Banned by Cordileone in San Francisco, Pelosi receives Eucharist in Washington appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.