The newly-appointed Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, widely known as the “Father of Prop 8,” was arrested late Saturday night on suspicion of drunk driving charges. Cordileone is also widely known as virulently anti-gay.
“Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, 56, who was appointed archbishop in July, was taken into custody Saturday at 12:26 a.m. after being stopped on College Avenue near Montezuma Road, police said,” UT San Diego reports:
Cordileone, who is a San Diego native, was booked into county jail on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence and later posted bail.
He has been serving as the bishop of Oakland and is set to be installed as the archdiocese of San Francisco in October. He was appointed to the post by Pope Benedict XVI, according to the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
When news came of Bishop Cordileone’s impending appointment to Archbishop, the Human Rights Campaign noted:
Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, one of the leading architects in the campaign to pass the discriminatory Proposition 8 in California, has been named the new Archbishop of San Francisco by Pope Benedict XVI. Cordileone played a central role in founding and executing the Protect Marriage campaign, and under his influence, Catholic organizations in California played a leading role in financing the Prop 8 campaign. His partners included the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and Focus on the Family. In fact, it was Cordileone who personally phoned NOM co-founder Maggie Gallagher and asked her to get NOM involved in the Prop 8 fight.
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“Bishop Cordileone has proven himself to be an anti-gay activist who encourages and promotes discrimination against LGBT people,†said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Catholic teaching calls on us to love our neighbors and to treat others with the same respect we wish for ourselves. Unfortunately, Bishop Cordileone’s crusade against LGBT people indicates he doesn’t take these particular teachings to heart. While LGBT Catholics and their allies have worked relentlessly to create welcoming environments, the appointment of Bishop Cordileone sends a chilling message that, in the eyes of the hierarchy, same-sex relationships are not worthy of equal dignity and respect.â€
Bishop Cordileone’s extremist views are out of step with the majority of Catholics. A May 2012 Gallup poll found support for marriage equality among Catholic at more than 50 percent, as did a recent poll from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
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