San Francisco Catholics deeply divided over archbishop

By JANIE HAR
Associated Press
April 24, 2015
Updated 2 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO — Many Roman Catholics in this city named for humble St. Francis are sparring with each other on social media and in letters to the editor over one figure: Their leader in the faith, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.

Cordileone is a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage in one of the country's most gay-friendly cities. He has proposed that staff at archdiocese high schools "affirm and believe" that marriage is between a man and a woman and that sexual relations outside of marriage are "gravely evil." He was scheduled to attend a March for Marriage rally in Washington, D.C., this weekend, but canceled to address unrest over his proposed morality clauses.

"I was expecting some controversy," said Cordileone in an interview this week, "but not to this degree. And I thought we would be able to sit down and work things out."

Critics of Cordileone placed a full-page ad this month in the San Francisco Chronicle, pleading with Pope Francis for a leader with a more inclusive agenda. Then the archbishop's supporters put out their own press release, arguing the man was only defending the church's teachings.

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