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Subscribe to RSSThe Catholic Church on Thursday installed Salvatore Cordileone, a leader in the fight against same-sex marriage, as archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
Archdiocese Of Oakland / Reuters
Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, bishop of Oakland since 2009, is shown in this publicity photo released to Reuters August 27, 2012. Cordileone, renowned for his conservative stance on same-sex marriage, has been arrested in his native San Diego for drunk driving, police said on August 27, 2012.
Following his installation as the religious leader of more than 500,000 Catholics in the largely gay-friendly Bay Area, Cordileone, 56, delivered a sermon and spoke about his recent arrest after failing a sobriety test at a police checkpoint.
"God has always had a way of putting me in my place," he said. "With the last episode in my life, God has outdone himself."
Cordileone spent about 11 hours in a San Diego jail cell in August after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. On Monday, he pleaded guilty to driving with alcohol in his system, said Gina Coburn, spokeswoman for the San Diego City Attorney.
Cordileone has been particularly outspoken in Church opposition to same-sex matrimony as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, a role that has put him at odds with many Bay Area Catholics.
He also led Church support for the 2008 voter-approved California state constitutional amendment, Proposition 8, that banned gay marriage.
Same-sex marriage, which the majority of Catholics support, according to a report from the Public Religion Research Institute,will likely be a key issue in the upcoming elections. President Barack Obama voiced his support of gay marriage earlier this year.
Other bishops, such as Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark, N.J., have also expressed strong opposition to gay marriage. Myers urged Catholics who support same-sex marriage to refrain from communion, NPR reported. In Maryland, the Archbishop of Baltimore co-hosted a fundraiser to fight gay marriage in that state, according to NPR.
For his part, Cordileone wants to deny communion to Catholics who are in an active gay relationship.
While taking his place as the archbishop of San Francisco and two other area counties, Cordileone called the drunken driving incident a "regrettable mistake."
Pope Benedict appointed Cordileone to preside over the Archdiocese of San Francisco in July.
"The archbishop is an advocate for immigrants and an opponent of the death penalty, but he comes here perceived as a one-issue bishop," Brian Cahill, former San Francisco Catholic Charities executive director, wrote in an editorial published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday.
"He can continue to be the aggressive, outspoken leader of the American Catholic bishops in their effort to prevent civil gay marriage, or he can be the shepherd of his flock. He can't be both, and if he tries, he will fail."
Cordileone said his grandfather settled in San Francisco 100 years ago.
"If someone had told him that his grandson would become the archbishop of this place, I'm sure he would think they were out of their mind," he said. "I'm sure there are people who think that today."
About 2,000 people, including 40 bishops, attended the installation and mass in the Cathedral of St. Mary. Outside the church, dozens of supporters carrying welcoming banners mixed with protesters, including the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence -- a group of gay male activists who dress as nuns.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Take marriage from the churches and have only civil unions as law. If people want a ceremony for the scrap book, then let them. As I see it, church marriages only serve to create more sinners and adulters. I would guess that successful marriages last on average less than 40 percent more than 5 years. I have not checked the data if there is any, but it sounds reasonable.
Vows and promises are meant to be broken, and "what God has joined, Man has been constantly setting Assunder"
The only reason Church weddings are popular is the pompt and circumstance where a woman gets a big diamond, and the father of the bride gets the shaft. Some people spend more money in that single day than several poor families makes in a year. That is why I ALWAYS cry at weddings. If same sex couples want to join in a legal agreement to bond, why shouldn't they have that same right?
Lazarus
Larry, only the state controls marriage in the US. What churches do is completely irrelevant.
skrekk,
Respectfully speaking, but the churches are pandering their influence to cause laws to be enacted in the favor of the churches interest. I am sorry if I was unclear but the next time I get married it will be Elvis all the way baby.
(Seriously) Recently when this story became news, the Southern Baptist convention did two things of interest. One was to elect a black president, and two, they released a statement that they had a budget of two million dollars they are willing to spend on ousting any Senator who supported same sex marriage. Now, my question is how would Jesus spend two million dollars? How many homeless would have a home? How many of America's hungry would be fed and for how long? Are they doing the work of Jesus?
I would say Satan is having a party and playing "The Devil Went down To Georgia" on his fiddle and they are invited because they provide so much entertainment for him.
What I am trying to point out is Hypocisy seems to not have any bounds in the established Southern Baptist Church as well as other established churches including the Catholics. Hate seems to the foundation of organized religion and using money to control legislation is a part of the way we are all influenced by the laws. Remove the church's influence, and begin taxing them and business. If they are truly nonprofit, let them show it on tax forms like the rest of the world. Somehow, I have a feeling that monstrosity of a church in Houston run by joel is a moneymaker.
Good night and good luck from,
Lazarus
Exactly right Larry.
But back to your original point about civil unions, please note that the bigots actually oppose those for gays too (contrary to their claims today). The whole point is to treat gays as less than equal and for straights to have special status. All the states which have banned same-sex marriage have also banned civil unions.
For example, the former governor of Hawaii vetoed their civil union bill and said she did so because it was "too much like marriage". In other words it was that near-equality that was the real problem, and she wasn't going to permit that to happen.
One would that that after millennia, the Catholic Church would find something better to do than persecute or promote persecution.
teh catholic church is trying to distract from how it has let and hid the endless molestation of children by its str8 but sex starved preists. the hiding of vile crimes goes all the way to the top
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23369148-pope-led-cover-up-of-child-abuse-by-priests.do
the trying to distractr fro the german pope who in 2009 UNexcommunicated a holocaust denier - criminal
http://nationalsurvivoradvocatescoalition.wordpress.com/editorials/
http://answeringchristian.wordpress.com/2011/03/19/vatican-confirms-report-of-sexual-abuse-and-rape-of-nuns-by-priests-in-23-countries/
All we need to remember s that the catholic church kept Europe in Bondage for a thousand years of the dark ages. In 179, a french Philosopher, in the ususal harshness of his day said correctly
Mankind will be free when the last king is strangled with the guts of the last priests. Too bad we ran out of kings before the priests were gone.
BTW Hitler, Dr. Mengele, Adolph Eichmann, Himmler (#2), and Goebbels all were catholic and went to catholic schools. As were also FRanbco, and Mussolini. Fascism btw developed not in Germany but in italy. Not surprising why.
I find homosexuality funny more than anything, especially the arguments often argued in favour of it.
Does it surprise anyone that the catholic church and their blatant disregard for human rights throughout history would give a convicted drunk driver a position of authority. For hundreds of years they have committed atrocities against mankind with impunity in the name of Jesus Christ. I spent eight years of intimidation and attempted brain washing in a catholic school where the majority of the priest and nuns were closet homosexuals.Do as I say not as I do is the insidious hypocrisy this religion has practiced since it's inception.