San Francisco Archbishop Responds After Caught on Video Giving Communion to Gay Men Dressed as Nuns

LifeSiteNews ^ | 10/10/07 | John-Henry Westen

[wagglebee]

SAN FRANCISCO, October 10, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Last Sunday, October 7, San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer said Mass at a Catholic church in the heart of the 'gay district' of Castro.  Most Holy Redeemer parish has a lamentable reputation of having caved in to demands of homosexual activists.  One group of homosexual activists which until recently operated regularly out of the parish was called "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence", men who wear makeup and dress as Catholic nuns.  Archbishop Niederauer was filmed giving two members of this group Holy Communion Sunday.

The "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence", whose motto is "go and sin some more" and describes itself as a "leading-edge order of queer nuns," planned to hold regular bingo games at Most Holy Redeemer parish until Catholic activists reported the plans to the press.  A local homosexual newspaper, the San Francisco Bay Times, reported that the events at the parish included sexually explicit activities.  Prizes included porn DVDs and "sex toys" the paper said.

Since then the parish has refused the "Sisters" use of its facilities.  However, according to local Catholic activists some of the "Sisters" continue to attend services at the church.

Anthony Gonzales, president of St. Joseph's Men Society, a group which has taken action to curb outrageous anti-Catholic activities within local Catholic churches, spoke with LifeSiteNews.com about the incident Sunday.  Gonzales said that while his group decided to film the event and "let the evidence speak for itself."

 "This was such a blasphemous action within a Catholic Church by an Archbishop representing Roman Catholicism it would make Judas blush," Gonzales told LifeSiteNews.com.  "To hand over our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to known practicing and promoting sodomites, in the middle of a 'gay-friendly Mass' is beyond the pale.

Gonzales said his group is calling on the Vatican to take action.  "The Vatican has to react to this and has to remove him from office," he said.

Gonzales' group has not yet been able to post their video online. However, a separate video of the event has been placed online by the Catholic blogsite Quamdiu Domine and is available here: http://www.qdomine.com/Morality_pages/MHR.htm

LifeSiteNews.com contacted the office of Archbishop Niederauer for a response to the accusations.  A statement by Archbishop Niederauer sent to LifeSiteNews.com by Archdiocesan communications director Maurice Healy says that the Archbishop did not notice any "mock religious garb." 

"At Most Holy Redeemer Church Oct. 7, I noticed no protest, no demonstration, no disruption of the Sunday Eucharist," said Archbishop Nierderauer.  "The congregation was devout and the liturgy was celebrated with reverence. Toward the end of the Communion line two strangely dressed persons came to receive Communion. I did not see any mock religious garb. As I recall, one of them wore a large flowered hat or garland."

The "Sisters" were heavily involved in the recent Folsom Street Fair which in addition to full nudity and public sex acts by homosexuals involved included a mockery of the Last Supper with Christ and his apostles represented by leather-clad homosexuals.  Bishop Niederauer stressed that he had denounced the poster.  "In the past when the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence or other groups have ridiculed the Church I have denounced their actions," said the Archbishop. "Only a week ago, Catholic San Francisco carried my remarks condemning the derisive use of the Last Supper on a poster printed by some other local group."

Americans for Truth, an Illinois based national pro-family group has joined in the call to have Vatican authorities made aware of the scandal.  Peter LeBarbara founder of the group encouraged "Catholics and other concerned pro-family Americans" to voice their concerns and provided the following contact information for Vatican authorities:

His Excellency The Most Reverend Pietro Sambi
The Apostolic Nuncio to the United States
The Apostolic Nunciature
3339 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008-3687
phone: 202-333-7121
fax:     202-337-4036

Cardinal William J. Levada
Prefect
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
[Secretary: Most Rev. Archbishop Angelo Amato, S.D.B.]
Piazza del S. Uffizio 11
00l93 Rome, Italy
Europe
phone: 011.39.06.69.88.33.57
phone: 011.39.06.69.88.34.13
fax:      011.39.06.69.88.34.09
email:  cdf@cfaith.va

[Claud]

The ancient liturgical churches are collapsing. The "modern" churches with the "anti-apostolic" notion of total Biblical inerrancy have escaped.

Which "church" would that be? The people you are talking about tend to be non-denoms or in insanely small bodies where it's easy to disfellowship people that show modernist inklings. Any church with national/international reach has a much more difficult time of it.

But I do see validity in your premise. If Adam is Eve is a myth, why not Sodom and Gomorrah?

[investigateworld]

“Tomas Torquemada, please pick up the white courtesy phone”.

[ArrogantBustard]

A "catholic" who proclaims Adam and Eve to be a myth is better known as a heretic. Polygenism is explicitly condemned in Humani Generis.

[magisterium]

"For myself, I’m hoping (even praying) that the Traditional Catholics win the day, I would rather be called “Heretical Bible Thumping Protestant” by a Catholic (brother) that I can respect and even admire at times, then watch the Entirety of Roman Catholicism slide into a puddle of Relativistic Goo."

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers, my brother. You are very kind.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

"Animosity?" I don't see the RCs around here shrinking from a defense of their faith. Nor should they.

I mean, if the Catholic Church vanished, what would you guys do with yourselves.............??

"So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." -- Luke 17:10

[KC Burke]

good comments.

your participation is valued.

[Claud]

Of course.

[nanetteclaret]

Thanks for that Scripture verse - a reminder of last Sunday’s Gospel reading at Mass (Luke 17:5-10).

[Cicero]

Levada isn’t going to help anyone. He is partly responsible for Nierderauer’s installment in SF.

Exactly. I believe they are both members of the Lavender Mafia that has been largely responsible for corrupting the Church.

I don't know what Pope Benedict was thinking of when he gave Levada that top post in the Vatican. Maybe something about keeping your enemies close to you, but it was a very, very strange appointment. And replacing Levada with Nierderauer meant that there would be no improvement at all in the San Francisco archdiocese, which is badly in need of a hosing out.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I think Rome has completely lost control of the U.S., a reality that is going to be made public very soon :-(

[DieHard the Hunter]

> your participation is valued.

Thanks, mate!

[Cicero]

You are quite right.

As a Catholic, I have a number of Evangelical friends, and we have worked together in professional organizations.

My idea of ecumenism is that you should be faithful to the Church you have been called to. My friends should try to be good Baptists or Methodists, as Jesus calls them, and I should try to be a good Catholic. We will always have our differences on certain issues, but there are many things we can work together and agree on, such as the right to life. Nothing is achieved by an ecumenism that calls on everyone concerned to give up every belief and practice that makes his Church different from any another.

If you do that, you soon arrive at the least common denominator of the modern unbelieving liberals, not much better than a Unitarian, or an Episcopalian who follows nothing but his own whims.

[ArrogantBustard]

An old priest for whom I used to serve Mass became increasingly apocalyptic as his retirement grew near. At his final Mass before leaving the Parish, he opined in his sermon (and looked at us Alar Boys while doing so) that ‘in your lifetime, there will be a great apostacy, and many whole dioceses in America will break away to form an American Church.” (Not exact quote, but close.) Hasn’t happened yet ... but I’m not dead yet, either.

[vox_freedom]

Amen.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

My priest says the same thing.

[padre35]

“I think Rome has completely lost control of the U.S., a reality that is going to be made public very soon :-(”

That is some bad news, I have the feeling that John Paul and Pious are the last of an “Authoritarian” type Catholic Leadership in Rome, the next generation may well not be from such a strong background.

As I recall, the runner up from the last College of Cardinals was a retired Priest from brazil (a Jesuit?) who was pretty liberal Theologically.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

If the prophecies are correct, the next pope will be an anti-pope followed by a strong pope who will return the Church to tradition.

[marshmallow]

‘in your lifetime, there will be a great apostacy, and many whole dioceses in America will break away to form an American Church.” Hasn’t happened yet ... but I’m not dead yet, either.

Maybe it has happened.

Did he mention whether the break would be formal or de facto?

There are a number of American dioceses which operate essentially independently of Rome. See Mahony, R., with respect to just about everything and O'Malley, S., with respect to the recent motu proprio about the Old Rite......... amongst many others.

[padre35]

Well Canticle of Deborah, that will be in God’s Hands.

[ArrogantBustard]

I recall it being a suggestion that the schism/apostacy would be formal.

As for de facto ... yeah. There are faithful Parishes even in the worst dioceses (and nutty parishes in the best), but there seem to be bishops who pay no mind to Rome, and priests who pay no mind to their bishops. So there may be a fair amount of de facto schism/apostacy. That, though, can be cured by a new appointment. When bishops or priests make a formal break (as by, for example, invalid or illicit ordinations) the problem is more difficult to solve.