San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has been a controversial and divisive Catholic leader in the City since he arrived. His very conservative world view and theology appear not to be a good match for a city as liberal and progressive as San Francisco. And, now about a hundred prominent donors and other members of the Church have asked Pope Francis to replace the archbishop in a full-page ad in the Chronicle. They say that Archbishop Cordileone is fostering “an atmosphere of division and intolerance.”
From the SFGate:
The plea follows months of dissent within the archdiocese over Cordileone’s emphasis on traditional, conservative church doctrine — including asking high school teachers and staffers at Catholic schools to sign a morality clause that characterizes sex outside of marriage and homosexual relations as “gravely evil.”
In their open letter to the pope, Cordileone’s critics say his morality-clause push is mean-spirited and “sets a pastoral tone that is closer to persecution than evangelization.”
Among the complaints (per the same SFGate article):
Picked a pastor for Star of the Sea parish in the Richmond District “who marginalizes women’s participation in the church by banning girls from altar service” and who provided elementary-school children with a pamphlet about sexuality that asked whether they had masturbated, engaged in sodomy or undergone an abortion.
Threatens the long-term health of the archdiocese by adopting a “single-issue agenda” against same-sex marriage.
“It seems he is going in a direction that is completely opposite where Pope Francis is going and creating an atmosphere of complete intolerance,” said Peninsula attorney Frank Pitre who, along with his wife, Diane, signed the letter. “Hopefully, this is going to get someone’s attention.’’
Nibbi Brothers construction executive Larry Nibbi, who also signed the letter, said the archbishop “is just causing a lot of discord, especially with the young people in the diocese.”
With regard to the marriage equality issue, Cordileone isn't likely to soften his views. He will again attend an NOM hate march for "traditional marriage" on April 25 in Washington DC at the Supreme Court. The SCOTUS will hear arguments in the marriage equality cases on April 28.