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Read this. Get a load of this gobbledygook:
The Roman Catholic Archbishop-elect of San Francisco apologised for his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving, behaviour that he said brought “shame” and “disgrace” on himself and the church, though legal experts said was unlikely to derail his promotion. Rev Salvatore Cordileone said in a statement issued Monday by his office that he was driving home from a dinner with friends in San Diego with his mother and a visiting a priest friend early Saturday when he was pulled over at a DUI checkpoint near San Diego State University. The statement said a sobriety test showed his blood-alcohol level to be above the legal limit, although Cordileone did not reveal by how much, saying, “I apologise for my error in judgment and feel shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself. I pray that God, in His inscrutable wisdom, will bring some good out of this”. …
The Rev Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, predicted that Cordileone’s arrest, while embarrassing, would only draw a response from Rome if it appeared that he had a serious substance abuse problem, one that prevented him from carrying out an archbishop’s duties, noting, “The bottom line is there is no real requirement that he resign. If he’s an out-of-control alcoholic who can’t function, that would be an issue, but obviously, he’s been the Bishop of Oakland all these years and he seems to be able to function. Nobody knows if he has a drinking problem or was one fraction over the (blood alcohol) limit”. Noting that forgiveness is an integral part of the Catholic faith, Reese recalled the 1985 DUI arrest of the late Minneapolis-St Paul Archbishop John Roach, who pleaded guilty and served two days in jail, but remained popular in the post for another decade. He observed that Cordileone would have to “explain this to people and depending on what he does and how it’s perceived, we’ll see how it goes. It could make him more human”. …
Since last year, Cordileone has been chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defence of Marriage. At a news conference last month, he said he thought the Roman Catholic Church had come a long way in addressing the issue of clergy sex abuse and reiterated his opposition to gay marriage, saying, “Marriage can only come about through the embrace of a man and a woman coming together. I don’t see how that is discriminatory against anyone”.
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One of the Culture Warriors got nicked by John Law… and is doing his best to weasel out of his guilt and skip scot-free away from the consequences. The above is sorry shit, no matter how you cut it. Here’s what real people of character do:
Bishop Margot Kässmann, the head of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) submitted her resignation. Last Saturday, police arrested her in the centre of Hanover for going through a red light. Frau Kässmann admitted that she was driving a car while intoxicated. However, according to police, she “wasn’t in control of her automobile”. “I made a big mistake. My heart tells me that I can’t remain in office. Therefore, I resigned and relinquished my duties in the Church”, Frau Kässmann said, according to the BBC.
http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=34356
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Let’s not be coy… Ms Kässmann, at least, did the right thing. When the coppers nicked her, she knew that her moral cred was in shreds. Ergo, she resigned immediately. In the case of this RC bishop, and in the case of OCA Bishop Benjamin Peterson, we have moral midgets who loved power so much that they spat in the face of good order and character. I’ll say this for Herman Swaiko… he demanded that the Holy Synod remove Peterson for dragging the Church through the muck… and he was RIGHT. However… note well how the Catholic and Orthodox clergy closed ranks to protect criminal clergy (let’s call them what they are). It doesn’t make me confident that they’re serious about protecting our kids from abusive clergy (“the black wall of silence” is a reality, kids). As I said, give Margot Kässmann credit… she did the right thing. Odd, ain’t it? Someone who’s not supposed to be a bishop acted with the dignity proper to a bishop caught in wrongdoing, but Peterson and Cordileone rip the episcopal dignity to shreds by not “doing the right thing”.
Peterson and Cordileone are sunk deep in prelest… no cleric who’s committed a civil crime should stay in office… rather, they should go to a monastery for repentance, as Nikon Mironov did. THAT’S why so many people have lost belief… the so-called guardians of purity are bespattered and sunk deep in the mire, and, then, DEMAND exact obedience to their every diktat (and obeisance before their secrecy and high-handedness). Excuse me whilst I hurl… this is too much of a muchness. How much longer, dear Lord?
Barbara-Marie Drezhlo
Tuesday 28 August 2012
Albany NY
