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Pelosi Spokesman and Priest Deny Speaker Heckled at Rome Mass (Video May Contradict Claims)

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Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker and a prominent pro-choice Catholic speaker (D-CA), fled Saturday’s mass at a Rome Catholic Church after she had met with Pope Francis. The priest presiding over the mass said from the altar there was a commotion and that Pelosi had left because of a “security issue.” A parishioner tipped off Epoch Times Rome reporter Bree A. Dail, claiming that Pelosi had been heckled. Pelosi’s spokesman denied that she was heckled and said Pelosi had left because of security concerns from Italy about an anti COVID protest. In a statement made to The Washington Post, the priest denied that there was any heckling. However, a close listen to the church’s Facebook video of the service shows a raised female voice can be heard as the priest announced the presence of Pelosi and her husband. It was impossible to discern what the woman was saying.

Original report by Dail, “ROME—@SpeakerPelosi reportedly heckled at St Patrick’s Catholic American Parish, in Rome, causing her to abruptly leave the Mass she was attending. Paulist Fr. Steven Petroff, rector of St. Patrick’s, addresses the alleged “security incident”, causing the Speaker to leave.”

Drew Hamill (Pelosi spokesperson) made the following statement.

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“There was no heckling. Unrelated to the anti-vaxxer demonstration prompted security personnel to take preventive measures. See actual journalistic coverage of that protest here from Reuters:”

Dail, “Hi, Drew. Reporting was fast-real, and I received a text message from a parishioner. It’s interesting that this is the narrative you all are just now providing. Is it possible that the church was harmed by protests? Do similar protests impede Speaker’s work, often in DC?”

Dail shared a map showing that the church is several miles away.

Hamill snarked back, “I’m sorry you had a bad source. Italian security personnel made the final decision. There have been protests at DC, but also a lot of journalists with poor sources and tweets that confirm what they heard. Do better next time.”

Dail replied, “Drew, would you comment on the “incident”? This is bad PR on your office’s end, when you have a security incident that must remove the speaker from Worship. How did the security situation threaten the Church which lies miles from the protests that you mentioned?”

Dail followed with a screen capture of the tip that said Pelosi was heckled out of the mass, “Hi, Drew. Happy to update with your statement and @washingtonpost’s interview with the priest, but as clearly stated in my tweet, “reportedly” is not the same as “confirmed”. Post earlier. Source at Mass yesterday. 24hrs is a long time to respond.”

Washington Post reporter Chico Harlan got a comment from the priest denying any heckling, “But meantime, Pelosi’s office says there was no heckling, and that the decision was made by Italian security officials. I spoke to Fr. Petroff is the priest featured in the video. “Absolutely not. … There was no heckling.” Here is everything he told me:”

Video of mass

The priest introduces Pelosi to her husband at seven minutes. A woman’s raised voice can be heard in the background followed by the sound of something slamming several seconds later as the priest apparently looks in Pelosi’s direction.

Ten minutes later, the priest performs a double take.

At 21:30 the priest announces Pelosi has left due to a “security issue.”