Ten Catholic congressmen issued a public letter yesterday to Speaker of the House chastising her for “mangling” Church doctrine on abortion.

During an appearance this past Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Speaker Pelosi claimed that she was “an ardent, practicing Catholic”. She further asserted that the Church’s teaching against abortion was “something like 50 years old” and over the ages, abortion has been “an issue of controversy”.

The offended legislators, including Steve Chabot of Ohio, Peter King of New York and Devin Nunes of California, correctly chastised Pelosi for misstating the history of Christian doctrine on the sanctity of human life:

“From the Apostles of the first century to Pope John Paul, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law,” wrote the congressmen, quoting from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

As of this writing, we are unaware of Pelosi’s response.

The controversy comes at a crucial – and predictable – time in the political cycle of the nation.

Catholic voters have formed a very important swing constituency during the past three or four presidential contests. One of the core issues in the fight for that vote is abortion. Pro-Life candidates for president have won a plurality of the Catholic vote in the past few elections.

Pelosi, as the nation’s highest-ranking Catholic elected official, is no doubt sensitive to that history and determined to change it. Her statements can be understood to be part of a concerted strategy by abortion advocates to hood-wink Catholics into “overlooking” Obama’s deep commitment to killing preborn children.

Another piece of that grand strategy came to light last Friday, when “Catholics for Choice” released a purported poll of Catholic voters. The group claimed that 69% of Catholics interviewed do not believe they are obligated to vote against candidates who support legalized abortion.

This “poll” is most likely an example of agenda-groups using the respectability of polling to help manipulate public opinion rather than reflect it. What is beyond dispute is the group’s blatant agenda to seduce non-wary Catholics into a comfort with pro-abort politicians.