Hi! So, what exactly did the Archbishop do that sparked outrage amongst Catholics in San Francisco? I'm a Protestant living in Texas, so I'm not really up to speed with everything. Thank you and God Bless!
If I may give a correction, first, to your question. Archbishop Cordileone did not spark “outrage amongst Catholics” in San Francisco.
There are thousands upon thousands of loyal, faith-filled Catholics in the San Francisco archdiocese. I know that because I studied in the archdiocesan seminary for San Francisco 30 years ago.
Out of those thousands and thousands, there were just 100 bitchy, whiny, bitter and nasty people who took out an ad against the archbishop.
And make no mistake. They were not “normal” Catholic people, but people who had the prestige, political connections, and disposable income for a full page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle–at least tens of thousands of dollars.
What angered some well to do, Catholic fatcats? Your guess is as good as mine. The archbishop could have preached a sermon on how money and power makes you privileged, haughty, and full of yourself, and that alone could have put their underpants into a twisted knot.
Or the archbishop could have said things like gay marriage is a sin, abortion kills a human being, that priests take a vow of obedience to the Catholic Church, or that Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead and the resurrection is not a fairy tale–you know, really shocking and earth shattering things that a Catholic bishop is not supposed to say too often.
There is a lot of rage also because the archbishop had a meeting with Catholic teachers, teaching in Catholic schools, where he had the nerve and the gall to tell them that they should profess and live Catholic morals in order to set a Catholic example. That alone makes him the enemy of “tolerance, diversity, and inclusion.”
In other words, the archbishop is not watered down enough. The modern Catholics, you know, are trying to “Sing a New Religion” into existence and Cordileone has been far too old fashioned for their tastes. Therefore, he has been sentenced for the capital crime of being too Catholic, and taking religion way too seriously.
In San Francisco, they want their archbishop to act like a hipster Anglican, who should just wear pretty church clothes and go to parties in bling where he hugs and kisses everyone (daintily, on both cheeks, while making that smacking sound that Europeans do when kissing on the cheek) and tells them they are fine just the way they are–please, please, no changes, no conversions–that conversion talk just upsets people. God bless and take care, Fr. Angel