In an astonishing challenge to traditional Catholic doctrine, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, nominally Catholic, has taken to telling San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone that he should not attend the National Organization for Marriage’s June 19 march on the Supreme Court in Washington D.C.
Cordileone is scheduled to be a featured speaker at the event, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which is consistent with his championing of Proposition 8 in 2008. Cordileone helped raise $1.5 million for the initiative, which intended to ban same-sex marriage in the state. He once said, “The ultimate attack of the evil one is the attack on marriage.”
Pelosi, who called the event “venom masquerading as virtue,” wrote to Cordileone, “We share our love of the Catholic faith and our city of San Francisco,” adding that the event would feature some participants displaying “disdain and hate towards LGBT persons,” and asserting, “If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?”
The March for Marriage, which was initiated last year, features thousands of people standing up for “traditional marriage” walking from the U.S Capitol to the Supreme Court. Among the speakers are Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum.
Pelosi is not the only Democratic San Francisco politician sending Cordileone a letter decrying his participation in the march. Last week, San Francisco mayor Ed Lee and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsome issued a joint letter to the bishop protesting his participation. In the letter, cited by the Chronicle‘s Carla Marinucci, they wrote: “We ask that you will reconsider your participation and join us in seeking to promote reconciliation rather than division and hatred …” They said the march was “organized by some of the nation’s most virulently anti-LGBT organizations and leaders.”
The National Organization of Marriage was also targeted by the federal government in the IRS scandal.
An online petition demanding that Cordileone cease and desist in his plans has been signed by roughly 20,000 people.
Cordileone is the head of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage for the U.S. Conference of Bishops. He has already referred to the March as “an important means to promote and defend marriage for the good of our culture, to pray for our federal and state governments, and to stand in solidarity with people of good will,” adding, “This is a critical time for marriage in our country, as marriage amendments are being struck down by federal courts and appeals of these decisions are being made.”
For more information on the March, see here.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.