Conservative Babylon

Salvatore Cardileone: “Father of Proposition 8” & New San Francisco Archbishop-to-Be Busted for DUI

God said, “Heh!” Salvatore Cardileone — a once obscure bishop who ended up becoming the mastermind behind California’s cruel Proposition 8, leading the Catholic effort to strip gay and lesbian Californians of their constitutionally-established right to marry — and who was rewarded for his efforts when the Vatican foisted him on San Francisco in a big, hard slap in the face to those same gay and lesbian Californians (and to everyone who cares about the constant imposition of the Roman Catholic church in secular life) — was nailed at a San Diego police checkpoint.

It was Bishop Sal and a small group of Catholic leaders who decided that they had to amend the state constitution. It was Bishop Sal who found the first major donor and flushed the fledgling campaign with cash. It was Bishop Sal who personally brought in the organization that took the lead on the petition drive. And it was Bishop Sal who coordinated the Catholic effort with evangelical churches around the state. Bishop Sal even helped craft the campaign’s rhetorical strategy, sitting in on focus groups to hone the message of Proposition 8.

We know all this because as homosexuals and their supporters were wondering how this all came about, Cordileone gloated about his work in an interview with an obscure Catholic radio network. He bragged about how gay men and lesbians never saw him coming and called gay marriage a Satanic plot by “the Evil One” to destroy morality in the modern world.

Now, Cordileone’s work has been rewarded, and the Vatican has made him the most important religious figure in the East Bay … one of the most liberal and gay-friendly parts of the world…

— Chris Thompson
“The Father of Proposition 8”
East Bay Express
August 12, 2009

If last week’s elevation of Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, Calif., to archbishop of San Francisco proves anything, it’s that attacking marriage equality puts a man on the fast-track to promotion in the Roman Catholic Church. A quick survey of the hierarchy’s most recent, high-profile appointments reveals a common denominator. …

There almost seems to be an element of retribution in these promotions. [Bishop William Lori's] anti-LGBT zeal was unleashed on a state in which the Catholic governor, Martin O’Malley, was instrumental in passing Maryland’s marriage equality. [Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle] was charged with leading the hostile takeover of women religious who were in trouble for (among only a few other reasons) not pushing the church’s agenda against same-sex marriage.

It is possible to interpret the elevations of Lori and Sartain as payback by the Vatican. But the Cordileone appointment is downright combative. …

— Jamie L. Manson
“‘Father of Proposition 8′ the latest in the Vatican’s fast-track promotions”
National Catholic Reporter
July 31. 2012

Last month, Cardileone said that his “stance is against same-sex marriage, but … not discriminatory towards anyone.” We find that line as hard to swallow as a communion wafer after Cardileone called same-sex marriage “an attack of the Evil One,” and in light of his hefty donations (personal donations, mind you) to both the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and ProtectMarriage.com.

From the currently dormant (but soon to be resurrected Base8):

NATL ORG/MARRIAGE (ANTI-GAY)
SALVATORE CORDILEONE
BISHOP
CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGO
SAN DIEGO CA 92186
04/12/08 – $1,000.00 – 1350179-INC184 – Filed: 08/07/08
08/18/08 – $3,000.00 – 1362593-INC1108 – Filed: 11/24/08
01/28/08 – $2,000.00 – 1329816-INC17 – Filed: 12/19/08

PROTECTMARRIAGE (ANTI-GAY)
MR. SALVATORE CORDILEONE
CLERGY
CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF SAN DIEGO
SAN DIEGO CA 92186-5728
10/16/08 – $2,000.00 – 1367079-INC99661 – Filed: 10/17/08
10/23/08 – $1,000.00 – 1372018-INC109930 – Filed: 10/24/08
10/23/08 – $1,000.00 – 1372018-INC109931 – Filed: 10/24/08
10/27/08 – $3,000.00 – 1374516-INC114420 – Filed: 10/28/08

Thirteen thousand dollars is a helluva lot of cash to fork over for a guy who supposedly took a vow of poverty as a priest (and it’s a helluva more than even some of the most zealous anti-gay Mormons donated to destroy equal rights).

And $13,000 doesn’t exactly say: “I’m not a mean-spirited, radically anti-gay bigot.”

Meanwhile, Cardileone has apologized for his San Diego bust (which, we’re sure, is a lot easier than apologizing for ruining the lives of countless gay and lesbian couples — and which sounds to our ears like a de facto confession), giving some sob story about having just had dinner with “his 88-year-old mother.”

Best line in his apology: “I pray that God, in His inscrutable wisdom, will bring some good out of this.”

If we were the praying sort, we’d pray for the same thing — beginning with Sal’s removal from his upcoming archbishop post, and his swift descent into complete obscurity after being exiled to a small island, whether he could spend the rest of his life preaching about those satanic gays to a herd of goats. But it would be too much to hope anything that good could come from this.

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