There is no way on earth the good Archbishop could not have known what the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were or have somehow missed the fact that these two twits came up dressed in a way intended to ridicule nuns and Catholicism in general. He makes way too many mistakes as far as homosexuals go, and I believe he was known for doing so in his previous diocese (if I remember correctly some people posted things to this effect at the time of his surprising appointment to SF).
I was stunned when the Pope appointed Levada to his position, and even more stunned when he filled Levada’s place with Neiderauer. I can only assume he didn’t really know what was going on; although supposedly one of his advisors on the US was Fr. Fessio, who spent much of his life in SF and on the West Coast and should know the players.
In any case, having Apb Neiderauer disingenously claim that he’s just such a ditz that, silly him, he completely missed the way these guys were dressed and knew absolutely nothing at all about their group is just plain ridiculous, and I don’t think his letter was much of an apology at all.
Me too. I have heard that the pope chose Levada because of a long personal friendship and trust that the two enjoyed and that Benedict wanted someone close to him to fill his old position so he could retain control over it. I can be somewhat pollyannish about the Church so I accept this explanation.
As for the appointment of Niederauer I have no explanation, and think it a huge mistake. SF needs Corapi.