Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made headlines over the weekend after her daughter reportedly told The New York Times her mom brought priests to the family home to try to “have an exorcism.”
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The purported religious rite was attempted after the former House speaker’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was assaulted with a hammer last October inside their San Francisco home.
The event, which made international headlines and left 82-year-old Paul Pelosi with serious injuries, left Nancy Pelosi feeling deep guilt, according to her daughter, Alexandra Pelosi.
“I think that weighed really heavy on her soul. I think she felt really guilty. I think that really broke her,” Alexandra Pelosi said. “Over Thanksgiving, she had priests coming, trying to have an exorcism of the house and having prayer services.”
It will reportedly be months before Paul Pelosi returns to normal.
The reported exorcism occurred over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, weeks after David DePape allegedly committed the assault inside the family home.
The claim about exorcism is undoubtedly noteworthy, though media outlets reported there is some confusion about which priests might have performed the rite. Fr. Arturo Albano of Pelosi’s local parish, St. Vincent de Paul Church, said he and his staff were not involved, according to The New York Post.
“As far as I know, no exorcism or priest services were performed at her home,” he said.
It could be possible, though, Nancy Pelosi sought priests from outside San Francisco, looking elsewhere in light of her problems with San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who banned her last year from receiving communion.
Cordileone announced in May Nancy Pelosi’s abortion views had become so concerning he would no longer permit her to partake in communion.
“After numerous attempts to speak with her to help her understand the grave evil she is perpetrating, the scandal she is causing, and the danger to her own soul she is risking, 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 confesses and receives absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance,” Cordileone wrote in a letter on the matter.
This hasn’t stopped the former House speaker from taking communion elsewhere; thus, it isn’t impossible to ponder she might consider receiving spiritual assistance for other matters, including an exorcism of her home, outside of her parish.
The exorcism story sparked a slew of reactions from conservatives and others:
I hear the exorcism had to be abandoned when the demon recognized Pelosi. The two of them embraced, and then had a strategy meeting on how to undermine conservatives, Republicans and practicing Christians https://t.co/YXmXwaV7Xm
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) January 22, 2023
Fr. Vincent Lampert said exorcism could indeed be appropriate to combat “demonic infestation,” and the presence of evil that may linger in a place where violent crime has occurred. https://t.co/XkoOxzNuxC
— Matthew Sedacca (@matthewsedacca) January 22, 2023
I’m surprised she didn’t disappear…
— Vincent Charles: Atomic Materialist/Bon Vivant (@YesThatVCharles) January 22, 2023
Nancy Pelosi held EXORCISM at her San Francisco mansion to try and banish ‘evil spirits’ | Daily Mail Online https://t.co/JGbWyRhM8X
Despite the mockery and a spate of negative reactions, some came to Pelosi’s defense and noted she might have sought an exorcism to expel evil from her home or find peace after trauma.
Fr. Vincent Lampert, an exorcist for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, said he receives thousands of requests each year for help inside homes. He said it’s not uncommon for people to seek assistance after a violent event unfolds.
“It would be the recitation of a particular prayer, inviting the presence of God back into the house, casting out any presence of evil that may be there,” he told The Post. “Then the house would be blessed with holy water, reminding us of our new life in Christ, and the fact that we need not fear any evil, because recognizing that Christ is dwelling with us.”
The exorcism twist is undoubtedly a new and interesting chapter in this story — and one worth following, pending the family gives more details.
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