Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, San Francisco's Roman Catholic archbishop-elect who was arrested early Monday for driving under the influence in San Diego, apologized, saying he felt "shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the church and myself."Read the rest here.
Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, who last month was named the next archbishop of San Francisco, was arrested early Saturday morning, according to police. Authorities stopped him at a checkpoint near the San Diego State University campus, the AP reported.
Cordileone, a San Diego native, was released on $2,500 bail about 11 hours after his release, a San Diego detective told Reuters. He had been booked on a misdemeanor DUI charge after he was stopped at a police checkpoint and failed a field sobriety test.
HT: Blog reader M.M.
2 comments:
A few comments on this episode:
1. The article did not say what his Breathalyzer reading was. However, the fact that he was caught early in the morning is not a good sign. In the best case, he was foolish for allowing himself to be put in this position. In the worst case, this indicates that he may have a long-standing alcohol problem. In either case, his moral authority is kaput.
2. Pope Benedict does not seem to be very sure-footed about his personnel picks. This is the second arch-episcopal appointment to blow up in his face. The first was Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, who had to resign on the day of his appointment because of revelations about his collaboration with the Communists.
3. Any bishop of any established Christian confession is a public figure, like it or not. Not only does he live in a fishbowl, like any other public figure, but, as a religious leader, he is held to a higher standard than actors or politicians. The press will never let Cordileone get away with this. He should resign.
4. The higher your clerical rank, the more temptations you face, and the bigger the bulls-eye that gets painted on your back. I am sure there are many priests who were sober when they began their careers, but who developed substance abuse (or other) problems after ordination. Whether or not this should result in deposition from one's current rank is a case-by-case matter. However, I think this should definitely be a bar to advancement to any higher rank. If Cordileone has an alcohol problem, it didn't start the day he was consecrated as a bishop. It has been going on a lot longer than that. This should have been picked up and dealt with long before he was promoted this far.
See http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/San-Francisco-archbishop-elect-in-DUI-arrest-3818542.php
Cordileone does not appear to have an alcohol problem. This incident apparently was an error in judgment after having a late dinner with his mother and friends.
The press also sought to interview his mom, who blames herself for encouraging him to drink a little too much wine. While this is unfortunate, and it is good he was stopped, it doesn't appear to be the juicy Mel Gibson-esque story the media desires it to be.
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