The Political Agenda Behind Abp. Cordileone’s Foes

You are not signed in as a Premium user; you are viewing the free version of this program. Premium users have access to full-length programs with limited commercials and receive a 10% discount in the store! Sign up for only one day for the low cost of $1.99. Click the button below.

See All Plans

Many of the alleged Catholics attacking San Francisco’s archbishop are prominent backers of a liberal political agenda.

Last week the so-called “prominent Catholics” paid tens of thousands of dollars on a full-page ad in The San Francisco Chronicle requesting Pope Francis remove Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone from office. According to reports, its signees have collectively spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on pro-abort, pro-gay groups and politicians of the Democratic Party.

Catholic Vote reveals that one man listed on the ad, Charles Geschke, former head of the University of San Francisco's Board of Trustees, once gave more than $200,000 to the Democrat Congressional campaign committee, and thousands more to pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians such as Nancy Pelosi and John Kerry.

Other high-profile signees, like Clint Reilly and Lou Giraudo, can be found among the donors to a similar litany of pro-abortion, pro-“gay rights” Democrat causes.

The motivation for their outrage is Archbishop Cordileone's effort this year to revise teacher contracts in Catholic schools within his archdiocese. He's taking steps to ensure faculty and staff can stand out as good examples of faithful Catholicism to their students. The revisions to faculty handbooks seek merely to clarify teachings of the Faith, which teachers already agreed not to publicly defy.

This move has drawn well-publicized ire from locals alleging to be Catholic. It's even led to the recruitment of San Francisco's most notorious public relations guru, Sam Singer. Singer, described as “one of the most powerful people in the San Francisco Bay Area,” heads a PR firm employing former reporters as well as former political strategists. He's suspected by many to be pulling strings in the local media in order to smear the archbishop's reputation.

Bay Area Catholics are not simply sitting on the sidelines and watching as their pastor is harassed by wealthy ideologues, however. A grassroots movement has just launched a website, SFCatholics.org, to gather support for the courageous archbishop.

“We refuse to stand by idly or helplessly as elites attempt to drive our Archbishop from our community because they despise the moral teachings of the Church which he courageously upholds,” a statement on the coalition's website says. “On the contrary, we applaud and support him, and we will vigorously defend him against their unjust attacks.”

The group will host a family picnic with food, live entertainment, and games on May 16th for “Archbishop Cordileone Support Day.”

Have a news tip? Submit news to our tip line.

We rely on you to support our news reporting. Please donate today.