People will use practically anything for politics, but when they use their religion it’s a bit breathtaking. Nancy Pelosi left a lot of Catholics gasping Sunday morning (Aug. 24), when she skewed Catholic teaching on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and erroneously suggested the church did not always oppose abortion. The House Speaker went well beyond the “personally opposed” position of many Catholics in public life when she opted to misrepresent St. Augustine (354-430). For a Catholic to hold herself up as an authority on the matter and to misuse church teaching for some political purpose is at best disingenuous. Few teachings of the church are clearer.

(Sister Mary Ann Walsh is director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.)