Eva Muntean, marketing manager at Ignatius Press and a co-chair of the annual Walk for Life in San Francisco, organised the picnic in response to the criticism the archbishop has faced.

Archbishop Cordileone said he attended the picnic "to thank these good people".

The archbishop has been criticised over material about sexual morality, plus a reference to "grave evils", that he put in a schools handbook.

He also proposed to reclassify teachers at diocesan Catholic schools as ministers, which afforded them fewer employment protections.

In April, more than 100 Catholics took out a full page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle asking Pope Francis to remove the archbishop.

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The "digital collection plate" stems from a partnership between the Archdiocese of San Francisco and Evergive.

It is also available on Android.

The app also simplifies creating new donation categories for special causes, be they for Nepal earthquake relief or for a local youth group.

The app will also serve as something of a digital community for members of the Catholic Church in San Francisco.

Through the app, users will receive updates, can join groups, share messages and prayers, and more.

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The ad in the San Francisco Chronicle on April 16 stated Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has "fostered an atmosphere of division and intolerance".

More than 100 signatories to an open letter in the ad referred to themselves as "committed Catholics inspired by Vatican II".

They include philanthropists, members of school and university boards, the former director of Catholic Charities CYO, high-profile attorneys and physicians, major figures in the business and corporate world, and officials of trusts, foundations and charitable organisations.

The open letter comes after fierce debate over so-called morality clauses inserted in contracts for teachers in archdiocesan schools.

A 2000-word statement by the archbishop for a faculty handbook had been criticised for its incendiary language and an overemphasis on sexual topics.

The signatories accused the archbishop of pursuing "a single-issue agenda" and coercing teachers with a "morality code which violates individual consciences as well as California labour laws".

Concerns were also expressed about a local pastor who had discontinued the use of altar girls.

The letter also said Archbishop Cordileone isolated "himself from our community" as he "relies . . . on a tiny group of advisors recruited from outside of our diocese and estranged from their own religious orders".

The archdiocese issued a statement calling the open letter "a misrepresentation of Catholic teaching, a misrepresentation of the nature of the teacher contract, and a misrepresentation of the spirit of the archbishop".

"The greatest misrepresentation of all is that the signers presume to speak for 'the Catholic Community of San Francisco.' They do not," the release stated.

"The archdiocese has met with a broad range of stakeholders.

"Together, we have engaged in a constructive dialogue on all of the issues raised in this ad. We welcome the chance to continue that discussion."

Those behind the ad had previously appealed to the apostolic nuncio in Washington about their concerns.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• CBS San Francisco
• Image: Our Sunday Visitor

The archdiocese installed the devices at St Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in response to needles, faeces and other dangerous items regularly being left there.

But the system lacked a permit and may have violated other laws.

News reports observed that there were no warning signs about the devices.

The archdiocese said similar systems are used in San Francisco's financial district, but admitted the concept was ill conceived at the cathedral.

In a statement, the work done by the cathedral for the homeless was noted.

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Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco is the chairman of the US bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. As the Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday heard arguments in two cases regarding same-sex "marriage," the archbishop is at the forefront of the Church's battle to defend marriage against this latest, and more "extreme" assault.

The archbishop was in Washington on Tuesday to lead the prayer for the first national March for Marriage, which ended precisely at the Supreme Court.

ZENIT spoke with the archbishop by phone on the vigil of the march.

ZENIT: Recent polls report that a slight majority of Americans favor same-sex "marriage," but of course polls are only worth so much. What is your view? Is this battle lost at the level of culture, both here at home and internationally?

Archbishop Cordileone: We've been hearing for 10 years that public opinion has shifted and that the majority of Americans favor legalizing same-sex "marriage," but until the last election the traditional concept of marriage has won out every time the people have been able to vote on it. And even now, this last election may indicate some shifting of opinion, but there was another poll that was done the day of, or the day after the election, which indicated that 60% of Americans still favor the traditional concept of marriage. It always depends on how the question is phrased. So, I think that when people understand what marriage really is, what its true purposes are — and that it's not something that's discriminatory, that they come around to appreciate it more. Continue reading

Sources

• Zenit
• Image: San Francisco Chronicle

Cordileone, a native Californian who served as bishop of Oakland for the last three-and-a-half years, is known to be a fierce defender of the Catholic Church's positions on homosexuality in general and same-sex marriage in particular.

The report said the prelate's stance on the issue has endeared him to Catholic conservatives but worried more liberal Catholics and other faith communities that welcome gay, lesbian and transgender members.

Cordileone was one of those behind California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in 2008. He is also head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' subcommittee charged with opposing efforts to legalize gay unions.

The AP report said Pope Benedict XVI's selection of Cordileone on July 27 to replace retiring Archbishop George Niederauer also has raised eyebrows outside of California.

"The most salient thing I can tell you is that the American bishops and archbishops I spoke with in the wake of the appointment, not seen widely as a progressive group, were stunned," said Rocco Palmo, a respected church commentator and blogger based in Philadelphia.

He said the appointment was seen as a "provocative gesture by Rome" to name a "combative" traditionalist to oversee the nation's gay capital.

Cordileone, meanwhile, said he wants to be seen as more than a one-issue man and looks forward to getting to know the 91 parishes in the archdiocese.

Sources

• AP/ABC News
• Fox News
• The Bay Area Reporter
• Image: San Francisco Chronicle

Archbishop-elect Salvatore Cordileone's mother Mary told media she blamed herself for her son's misdemeanour.

Archbishop Cordileone, his mother and a priest friend visiting from Germany had been at dinner at the home of friends in San Diego. While driving his mother home, the archbishop was stopped at a police checkpoint, where he exceeded California's alcohol limit of 0.08 per cent — the same as New Zealand's limit for drivers aged over 20.

"We were invited to some friend's house and he loved his wine and they kept filling his glass and filling his glass," said Mrs Cordileone. "And I didn't want to seem like a bossy mother. I should've told him, 'You're drinking too much wine'."

The police officer who made the arrest said: "He was very calm, somewhat apologetic at the time. He said he'd been drinking. But he wasn't a stumbling, falling-down drunk."

Archbishop Cordileone, 56, spent the night in jail and was released after posting a $2500 bond.

In a statement, he said: "I apologise for my error in judgment and feel shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself. I will repay my debt to society and I ask forgiveness from my family and my friends and co-workers at the diocese of Oakland and the archdiocese of San Francisco. I pray that God, in his inscrutable wisdom, will bring some good out of this."

If convicted, Archbishop Cordileone faces penalties of up to three years of probation, two days in jail, an $1800 fine and sobriety counselling.

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the only other traffic infraction he has committed was failing to stop at a stop sign two days before Christmas last year.

Sources:

Washington Post

Catholic Online

Image: CBS8

Drag queens had been a feature of an annual Harvest Feast fundraiser held on the gay-friendly parish's property by the Castro Country Club, an addiction recovery group.

But in August the new pastor, Father Brian Costello, told the club that drag queen performers and emcees would no longer be permitted.

"I said work with me. You can still have the dinner. You can have a regular emcee, but not drag queens on church property," Father Costello told the Bay Area Reporter.

He added: "I am the new pastor. There is a new archbishop. The archdiocese told me straight out, ‘No drag queens'."

But the San Francisco Chronicle got a different story when it spoke to parish business manager Michael Poma.

"Father Brian wasn't educated about the importance of drag queens in the gay community," Poma said. "Once it was explained to him, he said they were welcome to attend as long as their behaviour was church-appropriate."

Poma said the new policy was a ban on all non-church bookings, including weddings, because of problems including an event held by a gay softball team with some people "practically doing live sex acts on stage".

"We're part of the community here and to think that we're banning drag queens is obnoxious and ridiculous. There is no moratorium on drag queens. The church is predominately gay," he said, with many gays serving in ministry.

There was speculation that the new policy arose from the appointment of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, an active opponent of same-sex marriage, as Archbishop of San Francisco.

But archdiocesan spokesman George Wesolek said: "The new archbishop has absolutely no authority until October 4 when he takes over. I'm pretty sure he didn't even hear about this issue until now."

Sources:

Bay Area Reporter

San Francisco Examiner

California Catholic Daily

Image: CARM

Salvatore Cordileone played a key role in the passage of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California. The Vatican on Friday named him to replace San Francisco's current archbishop, George Niederauer, in October.

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Hoover was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a thoroughfare during a violent demonstration in January that resulted in the arrests of more than 300 protesters who attempted to take over the vacant Kaiser Convention Center near Lake Merritt.

Hoover, who is studying to be a priest at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, said he was arrested when he stopped in the street to protect a homeless man from being trampled by a line of police officers who were advancing on a group of protesters.

Hoover testified during his brief jury trial and said after his sentencing Monday that he did nothing wrong and obeyed all police orders but was still arrested.

Evidence in the trial, however, revealed that Hoover was an active participant in the protest and did not attend the Jan. 28 demonstration simply to observe.

While a jury found Hoover guilty of obstructing a thoroughfare it deadlocked on a charge against Hoover of resisting arrest, and the District Attorney's Office decided to drop the charge rather than seek another trial.

Hoover said Monday that he was proud of taking part in an Occupy event and said he has not ruled out doing so again.

"The cop was doing what he felt he had to do and I felt I did what I had to do," Hoover said. "I'm grateful to be part of the Occupy movement."

The stated purpose of Occupy Oakland, San Francisco, is to plan actions, mobilize real resistance, and for people to defend themselves from the economic and physical war that is being waged against our communities.

Sources

• Mercury News
• Occupy Oakland
• Image: CBS