About this episode
On Friday, according to the Catholic News Agency, "San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone instructed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not to present herself for Holy Communion until she publicly repudiates her support for abortion." On Monday, Whoopi Goldberg told the archbishop via her audience on The View , "This is not your job, dude. That is not up to you to make that decision." It is, of course, the archbishop's job to oversee the proper administration of the sacraments in that geographic region of the church. It is exactly his job, in fact. Other than playing a nun in the Sister Act movies, it's not clear what qualifies Goldberg to tell an archbishop what his job is. Years ago, Dr. Frank Beckwith taught a group of students how to respond to someone dismissive of their arguments: "If anyone ever says to you, 'Who are to say what's right?' just ask back 'Who are you to say, "Who are you to say?"'" This isn't about Whoopi, of course. Skeptics, secularists, and non-believers will often ask, "Who are you to speak for Jesus?" while speaking for Jesus. A good response is, "Well, who are you to ask?"