Those who lump him together with the likes of Nancy Pelosi or Ted Kennedy may be mistaken.

Or so suggests Elizabeth Scalia, at Inside Catholic:

As a politician, Giuliani has never been a legislator or a judge; he has neither written nor ruled abortion rights into law. His career has in no way involved him in the procuring, legislating, or legalization of abortion. He has not negatively affected the free speech of pro-lifers, nor sought to use arcane legal maneuvers to do so. This puts him in quite a different league from some of the other communicants skewered by Novak (Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sens. John Kerry and Ted Kennedy) but who — thus far — have suffered no public discipline by Washington’s Archbishop Donald Wuerl. The prelate ducked the issue altogether by saying, “The decision concerning the refusal of Holy Communion to an individual can best be made by the bishop in the person’s home diocese with whom he or she presumably is in conversation.”

Leaving aside whether or not Archbishop Wuerl has a responsibility to pastor those politicians who spend a portion of their time living in his diocese, Giuliani is currently a private citizen, neither an office-holder nor a current candidate for any office. As such, should his now-private opinions have been used as an excuse for public excoriation? Is Cardinal Egan teaching that all Catholics — not just active politicians — must on this issue conform with their whole minds to Catholic teaching or else recuse themselves from Communion?

It’s a fair question. If that’s what Cardinal Egan is saying, he needs to make himself plain about it and explain the rather dramatic implication that Catholics are not entitled to their private thoughts and opinions, unless they are perfectly reasoned in faith.

There’s more, so hotfoot it over to Inside Catholic for the rest. She makes some interesting and credible arguments.