Please appoint a new archbishop for the Diocese of San Francisco. Our city needs someone who embodies more of your spirit, tone, and compassion than current Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.
This is the second time we have called for Cordileone to be replaced. We know that he was appointed to the position by your predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. As such, to mark your second anniversary as pope, and with Easter approaching, we think the timing is perfect for you to select your own archbishop for the city.
We're confident that you've heard about the problems Cordileone has caused in the City of St. Francis. We believe the many negative news reports surrounding the archbishop are the result of his abrasive leadership style and his unwillingness to listen to other viewpoints. And let us be clear: our problems with Cordileone stem mainly from his doctrinaire opposition to equal rights for gays, including same-sex marriage.
Cordileone has done nothing to demonstrate any caring for LGBTs, from school students to teachers to lay people.
He's trying to revise the faculty handbook at four Catholic high schools by including a morality clause that specifically condemns homosexuality, marriage equality, contraception, ordination of female priests, and assisted reproductive techniques. He wants teachers at the schools to be called "ministers," which isn't exactly what they're paid to do. Although we accept that private Catholic schools have a right to include Catholic doctrine as part of its mission, they should not discriminate against their LGBT faculty and students.
In August 2012, shortly after his appointment, Cordileone banned drag performers at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the Castro, even though they were part of a fundraiser for a sober living organization that had staged the show for years. That decree led Most Holy Redeemer to institute a no-rental policy for all groups, a sad state of affairs given the church's long history in the neighborhood.
In June 2014, Cordileone flew to Washington, D.C. where he was a featured speaker at an anti-same-sex marriage rally, the "March for Marriage," where gay and lesbian couples were criticized for wanting the same rights as straight couples.
In July 2012, as bishop of Oakland, Cordileone sought loyalty oaths from a Berkeley Catholic group.
Our criticism of Cordileone's anti-gay actions must also extend to the diocese's treatment of homeless people. The final straw was the revelation last week that St. Mary's Cathedral for the past two years was regularly dousing homeless people who sleep in the alcoves with cold water from a sprinkler system that was apparently illegally installed and lacks the proper permits. This inhumane treatment of some of the city's most vulnerable residents stands in stark contrast to your message of compassion for all people.
City leaders from Mayor Ed Lee on down roundly criticized the archdiocese, and, frankly, were shocked that a faith organization was putting people's lives at risk by soaking them with water and leaving them exposed to the elements. Is that a proper Christian response to homelessness? We think not.
During your tenure, you have hugged a transgender man and, just last weekend, met with gay, transgender, and HIV-positive prisoners in Naples. "Sometimes you feel disappointed, discouraged, abandoned by all," you said, according to a translation of your speech released by the Vatican Press Office. "God does not forget his children, he never abandons them. He is always on our side, especially during times of trial."
Catholics and non-Catholics are still in awe of your 2013 comment when you said, "Who am I to judge" gay priests. That simple utterance led so many to believe of the possibility for a better church, for tolerance, for a sincere effort to bridge what has been decades of rejection.
San Francisco deserves better pastoral care from a religious leader than Cordileone has been able to provide. We urge you to make a change and give our city an archbishop who respects the dignity of all people.