WASHINGTON (CNS) -- San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone said he was praying for the husband of House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi after police said he was "violently assaulted" at home early Oct. 28 by a man with a hammer.
"Please join me in praying for the swift recovery of Paul Pelosi and comfort for his wife and family too. Mother Mary hear our prayer," Archbishop Cordileone tweeted.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott in an Oct. 28 news conference identified 42-year-old David Depape as the suspect, saying he will be charged with attempted homicide.
Scott said authorities were called to the Pelosi home at 2:27 a.m. for a priority well-being check and, upon responding, officers said they encountered the speaker’s husband, 82, and a suspect holding a hammer.
"The suspect pulled the hammer away from (Pelosi) and violently assaulted him ... our officers immediately tackled the suspect and disarmed him," Scott said.
Both were taken to a local hospital for treatment, police said. Scott said Depape also will be charged with assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, burglary and other additional felonies.
Scott said the investigation is ongoing and authorities are still determining a motive. The speaker was in Washington at the time of the attack. Her office has asked for privacy for the family.
Some on Twitter lashed out at the Oct. 28 tweet by Archbishop Cordileone, who told Speaker Pelosi in a May 19 letter: "You are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publically (sic) repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance."
San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia Siller also offered prayers for the speaker's husband and other victims of violence.
"We pray for the children in Uvalde, the migrants burnt to death, and the people killed by shootings and violence, we pray for Mr. Paul Pelosi. We condemn violence. We all could be a target, especially the poor, migrants, the elderly and any life from conception to natural death," he tweeted.
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