Posted on 07/27/2012 1:31:59 PM PDT by NYer
Depending on how one looks at things, this Friday morning brings either the most courageously bold — or stunningly brazen — American appointment in the seven-year reign of Pope Benedict XVI.
For the better part of the last four months, the machinery of the archdiocese that — at least, under normal circumstances — many US bishops consider the nation’s most daunting assignment has quietly prepared its 450,000 members for a transition at the top. Yet while the pontiff’s selection of the ninth archbishop of San Francisco had almost universally been expected by late June, an apparent delay was explained by credible reports of a backroom Roman “fight” over the state and direction of the famously progressive local church.
Now, finally, the dust has cleared… and even for a city well-accustomed to seismic activity, the ecclesial Richter Scale both by the Bay and well beyond is about to record a right whopper.
A “major announcement on the future of the archdiocese” already set for 10am local time at St Mary’s Cathedral, at Roman Noon the pontiff named Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, 56 — the San Diego-born head of the neighboring Oakland church since 2009, and chairman of the US bishops’ efforts to defend the traditional definition of marriage — to succeed Archbishop George Niederauer, who reached the retirement age of 75 in June 2011.
After a half-century of occupants accused by conservatives of soft-pedaling church teaching in favor of a more conciliatory approach toward constituencies ranging from gays and lesbians to Nancy Pelosi – a group of prelates among which the recently-retired chief guardian of church doctrine, Cardinal William Levada, was not exempt from sometimes stinging criticism — the move delivers the long-desired “Holy Grail” of the American Catholic Right firmly into the faction’s hands, in the form of a prelate already known widely both for his forcefulness and a stringent doctrinal cred almost unequaled among his confreres on the national bench.
For liberal Catholics, meanwhile, the appointment is likely to be received as something akin to the city’s Great Earthquake of 1906, or even more apocalyptic events. In a nutshell, an appointment of this dramatic, potentially explosive nature is enough to make even last year’s blockbuster move in the States — likewise Rome’s final US move of the annual work-cycle — seem almost mild by comparison.
Either way, as the onetime lawyer at the Vatican’s “supreme court” (his surname Italian for “lion heart”) crosses the Bay Bridge with a mandate to reshape the House of Quinn with a distinctive style and emphases over a tenure that could well extend over two decades, it seems pretty safe to say that, this morning, progressive Catholicism on these shores has a new leading bete noire – and one who’ll be around and kicking for quite some time, at that.
A fluent Spanish speaker and canon lawyer, he was one of the creators of Proposition 8 - the state referendum banning same-sex marriage - arguing that “only one idea of marriage can stand" and that people have to stand up for that definition. "If that's going to be considered bigoted, we're going to see our rights being taken away - as is already happening," he said in 2009.Since January 2011, Bishop Cordileone has served as chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, leading efforts to resist the legalization of same-sex marriage. He is also a member of the USCCB's Committee on Religious Liberty.
I PRAY he’s strong and resolute.
Good, now adjust fire a little to the east for the next target, Stockton.
IIRC the submitted language for Calif. Prop 8 simply affirmed marriage as between a man and a woman; Jerry Brown’s people altered it to read “banning” other marriages in an effort to hurt its chances on Election Day.
I wish this Archbishop the best and hope that he really knows what is about to happen to him, and is preparing himself for the onslaught. Prayers to his success.
BOOM!
Love it.
One of the creators of Prop 8?? You are kidding? What a great Pope we have. He is really cleaning up the messes.
I think this was his last assignment--Cathedral of Light in Oakland.
I think this was his last assignment--Cathedral of Light in Oakland.
"Marriage, the union of one man and one woman, is the cornerstone of society. It is also the foundation of a just society, as it protects the most vulnerable segment of the population, children. Every child longs for and deserves a mother and a father, and marriage is the only institution that insures that children grow up knowing and being known by their mother and father. The public good demands that this truth of marriage be respected in law and society, not rejected." - (Arch)Bishop Salvatore Cordileone
A great bishop. A great heart. A great pro-lifer.
I think he will one day be a Cardinal.
Time to wield the broom of excommunication.
I saw the news this morning at Whispers in the Loggia. THIS will indeed have repercussions...of the very best sort!
The title at Rocco Palmo’s blog was:
B16’s “Bombshell By the Bay” — Marriage Chief Cordileone to Rock San Francisco
;-))))
Let us keep him in our prayers.
this is a church? it looks like a missle silo.
Lord we praise Thee and we adore Thee.
Crush Thy enemies, Lord.
In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.
I pray the Lord keeps him strong for the struggles ahead.
Amen!
What great news!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.