Homosexual Activism in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Latest News
	Home Catholic Charities CYO  The University of San Francisco Most Holy Redeemer Personnel/Institutional Flowchart Other Archdiocesan Institutions Is this Important? Contact		December 27, 2011: The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco; Most Holy Redeemer Church California Catholic Daily reports: “Far from Rome” USF faculty members join ‘woman deacon’ on Bay Area public radio to discuss homosexuality and the Catholic Church The Catholic Church is an anti-woman and homophobic institution requiring theological transformation, two faculty members from the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco and a member of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement agreed during a pre-Christmas program broadcast on a Bay Area public radio station. The hour-long Dec. 12 program was broadcast as part of KALW radio’s “City Vision” series and addressed the topic “Far from Rome: Being Gay and Catholic in the Bay Area.” The invited guests were Fr. Donal Godfrey, Associate Director of University Ministry at the University of San Francisco, a Jesuit priest and the author of Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church; the Rev. Vincent Pizzuto, Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Francisco and an ordained priest in the Celtic Christian Church; and Christine Fahrenbach, an “ordained deacon” and member of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement who once co-led a gay and lesbian ministry at a Santa Cruz parish. While serving in that capacity, she said, she received “a lot of support from the pastor and some support from the bishop down there.” Hostility to the Church’s teaching regarding same-sex attracted persons was a foregone conclusion as the program got under way and, in fact, the only panelist who could truly claim membership in the Catholic Church was Fr. Godfrey. Pizzuto left the Catholic Church and was ordained as a priest in the “Celtic Christian Church” in 2007. Fahrenbach, former co-director of the Lesbian and Gay Ministry at Holy Cross parish in Santa Cruz, was “ordained” a deacon in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement on Sept. 18, 2011, an act that brought her automatic excommunication, a fact she acknowledged during the program. Although Pizzuto and Fahrenbach have left the Church, they still seemed to be quite interested in its direction. Pizzuto said there is “systemic homophobia rampant throughout the Church,” while Fahrenbach opined that the Church’s alleged “homophobia” stems from its history of male domination and the treatment of women as second-class citizens. There is, said Fahrenbach, “a misogynist shadow” over the Church. Godfrey said that “pastoral practice” within the Church is frequently at odds with magisterial teaching, agreeing with Pizzuto that the hierarchy has yet to catch up with shifting attitudes in the pews. He compared attitudes regarding homosexuality at parishes like San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer parish to women who use artificial contraception. Ultimately, he said, such issues are a matter of individual conscience. Pizzuto, who teaches theology and religious studies, openly discussed the possibility of changing the Church’s teaching on homosexuality. He described efforts to change the Church’s teachings as a “battle very much under way,” and said that “the Bible, as we understand it really does not address current issues… what we need to change is not so much the scriptures, which of course we cannot change, but the interpretation that has been given to them. And that’s going to take a lot of theologically and biblically interpretive work to move us forward.”
	December 15, 2011: Most Holy Redeemer Church The Bay Area Reporter reports that Archbishop George Niederauer has caused San Francisco's Most Holy Redeemer to dis-invite three of their scheduled Advent Vespers speakers (see entries below for November 22 and December 1): "At least three gay and lesbian clergy members were disinvited from participating in Advent services at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the Castro, the Bay Area Reporter has learned. The call for the gay clergy not to attend came from the Archdiocese of San Francisco, sources said." The three were retired same-sex "married" Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles; the openly homosexual Presbyterian Reverend Jane Spahr, and the Reverend Roland Stringfellow, the Director of Ministerial Outreach at the Center for Lesbian & Gay Studies in Spirituality and Ministry in Berkeley. The BAR article continued: "George Wesolek, spokesman for the archdiocese, confirmed that Archbishop George Niederauer made the decision." December 1, 2011: Most Holy Redeemer Church California Catholic Daily follows up on the Bishop Otis Charles story (previous entry): Kudos from Rainbow Sash Movement Radical homosexual group ‘encouraged’ by archbishop’s inaction at Most Holy Redeemer The Rainbow Sash Movement, a homosexual-rights group known for disrupting Masses across the world on Pentecost Sundays, says San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer’s failure to police activities at the notoriously ‘gay-friendly’ Most Holy Redeemer parish “should be applauded.” In a Nov. 22 news release -- the same day California Catholic Daily published a story about the scheduled appearance of retired Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles at Most Holy Redeemer -- Rainbow Sash said it “wishes to congratulate the people and pastor” of the parish for inviting Bishop Charles, noting he had publicly announced his homosexuality and “had a blessed union service performed to bless his relationship with his lover in 2004.” “The Rainbow Sash Movement is encouraged by Archbishop Niederauer’s lack of action on this matter, and believes he is taking a role in responding to the rampant homophobia that is alive and well in the Church,” said the news release. The Rainbow Sash Movement is best known for disrupting Masses on Pentecost Sundays by having its members wear “gay colors” while presenting themselves for Communion. In 2004, Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, instructed priests of the archdiocese to refuse Communion to wearers of the rainbow sash. "The policy of the U.S. Conference of Bishops is to not give Communion to those wearing the Rainbow Sash," said the cardinal in his written instruction to archdiocesan priests. A Jan. 15, 2005 letter written on his behalf by the secretary of Cardinal Francis Arinze, then prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, noted: "Rainbow Sash wearers are showing their opposition to Church teaching on a major issue of natural law and so disqualify themselves from being given Holy Communion." In the meantime, Most Holy Redeemer continues giving reasons for the Rainbow Sash Movement to rejoice. According to the Nov. 27 Most Holy Redeemer parish bulletin, the scheduled speaker at its Dec. 14 Vespers will be Jane Spahr, another homosexual activist. According to her biographical page at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Religious Archives Network, “The Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr, Janie, as she prefers to be called, describes herself as a lesbian, feminist, Presbyterian minister committed to justice issues for the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community, pursuing connections for wholeness with other oppressed communities claiming their freedom.” Other homosexual religious websites refer to Spahr as a “lesbyterian.” In August of 2010, a regional court of the Presbyterian Church meeting in Napa “rebuked” Spahr for celebrating 16 same-sex “marriages.” The “marriages” took place in 2008, during the time when such things were legal in the state. The Christian Post reported: “In a 4-2 vote by the Redwood Presbytery Judicial Commission, the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr was found guilty of representing the ceremonies as marriages, persistently disobeying church law, and violating her ordination vows.” Spahr had received a previous censure from the Presbyterian Church for performing two such “marriages” in 2004. November 22, 2011: Most Holy Redeemer Church From California Catholic Daily: “First bishop to wed his same-sex partner” San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer parish invites retired male Episcopal bishop who ‘married’ a man to lead Advent Vespers service Most Holy Redeemer Church, San Francisco’s notoriously ‘gay-friendly’ parish, has invited a retired Episcopalian bishop who left his wife and family to ‘marry’ a man as guest speaker at a Nov. 30 Advent Vespers Service. The invited guest is Episcopal Bishop Otis Charles, who in 2005 provided a biographical statement to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Religious Archives Network, which said in part: “Since 1979 he has been among a growing number of bishops who have spoken out for full and complete inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the church without restriction, recognizing their calling to ministry and rejecting the notion that a baptized homosexual must live a celibate life. Whether in an informal gathering or the pulpit, he characteristically begins, ‘I am a gay man, an Episcopal (Anglican) bishop, a queer who only just mustered the courage to publicly acknowledge the truth of my life.’" Not included in the statement is that Charles divorced his wife of 42 years, and has five children. It also does not include the fact that, on April 24, 2004, he “married” a man named Felipe Sanchez Paris in a ceremony at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. The event was covered in the San Francisco Chronicle as “the world's first bishop to wed his same-sex partner in church.” The Chronicle also reported that, following the “marriage,” the Right Rev. William Swing, then Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of California, severed ties with Bishop Charles: "No longer is he an assisting bishop, and no longer is he licensed to celebrate the Sacraments here." Pro-homosexuality Vespers speakers are not unusual at Most Holy Redeemer. In 2010 such speakers included Episcopal Rev. Jay Emerson Johnson, a staff member at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. His biographical page on the CLGS website says, “His current research and writing interests involve the intersections of queer theory and Christian traditions.” Another 2010 Vespers speaker at Most Holy Redeemer was the openly homosexual Rev. Jeff Bert, then serving as an associate pastor at Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco. In 2008, the parish hosted retired Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, who has challenged Church teaching on homosexuality and is a member of the dissident group Call to Action. Bishop Gumbleton is a recipient of the New Ways Ministry “Bridge Building” award. In 2010, Washington, D.C., Archbishop Donald Wuerl and Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, speaking for the USCCB, said of New Ways Ministry, “in no manner is this organization authorized to speak on behalf of the Catholic Church or to identify itself as a Catholic organization.” On Dec. 4, 2007 Most Holy Redeemer hosted Dr. Ora Prochovnick, then-president of Sha'ar Zahav Congregation of San Francisco, whose affiliations include “the World Congress of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Jews (WCGLBTJ) and the San Francisco Organizing Project (SFOP). In 2006, Vespers speakers included same-sex “married” parishioner and past MHR Pastoral Council President Roz Gallo; Jesuit Fr. Donal Godfrey, a well-known homosexual activist; and Fr. David Matz, CPPS, a Missionary of the Precious Blood of the Kansas City Province. The MHR bulletin introduced Fr. Matz this way: “He is currently studying at Pacific School of Religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, where he resides. He is studying for a Doctor of Ministry degree focusing on LGBT issues.” July 7, 2011: Most Holy Redeemer Church, St. Agnes Church, St. John of God Church From California Catholic Daily: Three parishes in SF ‘gay pride’ parade Most Holy Redeemer, St. John of God and St. Agnes On May 31, California Catholic Daily reported that parishioners from churches of the Archdiocese of San Francisco would be marching in San Francisco’s annual “Gay Pride” parade. CalCatholic also reported that San Francisco’s notoriously gay-friendly Most Holy Redeemer Church had extended an invitation to like-minded persons around the archdiocese to attend a planning meeting hosted at the church on May 29. The event was publicized in the April issue of Communion, the monthly newsletter of Catholics for Equality, a pro-homosexual group that purports to be ‘Catholic.” “I am very pleased to announce to you that Most Holy Redeemer will be participating and have a marching contingent at this year’s annual Pride Parade,” said James De Wan in the Communion article. “We are doing this, not under the banner of MHR, but as private Catholic citizens. We have reached out to other Catholic parishes, and have received enthusiastic responses. Fr. Steve (Meriwether) has generously given us blessing and support in this effort. We will be registering and signing up for the parade, but at this point are most likely not to have a booth at the after parade festivities, but would very much be interested in doing so in future parades, and events.” The July issue of Communion gave an update and provided some clarity: “More than 25 parishioners including those from Most Holy Redeemer, St. John of God, and St. Agnes marched in the recent San Francisco Pride parade under the homemade banner of Bay Area Catholics.” Communion also published excerpts of a June 11 talk, “On Pride,” given at MHR by Fr. Steve Meriwether, which included this: “‘People are very diverse,” he (Meriwether) continued. “We are one nation, one people, but we often speak different languages and are of different races and ethnicities. We also have different sexual orientations. This is a good thing. It is not something to be frightened of, for diversity enriches society.’” Additional clarity was provided by Gay Pride parade flyers at St. John of God, and by the June 26 “pastor’s message” in the St. Agnes bulletin. The tables by the entrance to St. John of God presented flyers which began, “St. John of God Community members marching in the Annual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgender Parade Sunday June, 26, 2011.” After giving the assembly location, the flyer continued: “Deacon Brian will be leaving St. John of God Church after the 9:30am Mass and will be taking the N Judah (streetcar) downtown to meet the group.” The “Deacon Brian” mentioned is Deacon Brian Bromberger, formerly of Most Holy Redeemer and now on staff at St. John of God. St. Agnes is a Jesuit parish. Some readers may remember that St. Agnes’ former pastor, Fr. Cameron Ayers, had marched in the ‘gay pride’ parade and that in June 2008 he contributed $100 to oppose Proposition 8. In May 2009, Fr. Ayers took an indefinite leave of absence from the Society of Jesus in order to discern his vocation. Fr. Ayers was replaced by Fr. Raymond Allender, SJ. Fr. Allender’s message in St. Agnes’ June 26 parish bulletin closed with the line: “Finally, on Gay Pride Day let me say how proud we are of our gay brothers and lesbian sisters who bring so much to our parish by their participation.” June 11, 2011: Most Holy Redeemer Church From California Catholic Daily: “Switch Hitters Ball” Transvestite event held on property of San Francisco archdiocese -- at Most Holy Redeemer Church, of course Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church hosted a fundraiser on Saturday, June 11, for the San Francisco Gay Softball League called the “Switch Hitters Ball.” The Switch Hitters Ball has been hosted by Most Holy Redeemer each year since at least 2007. The “Switch Hitter” in the event title does not refer to a batter who is able to hit from both sides of the plate -- it refers instead to the transvestite nature of the “entertainment” that takes place at the ball. Performers are required to fill out a sign-up sheet provided by the Gay Softball League, which offers individual performers one choice: “Switchhitter: Male to Female or Female to Male.” The sign-up sheet and event publication specify “Rehearsal time will be provided at Most Holy Redeemer’s Ellard Hall on the afternoon of competition” and that each “Switch Hitter will be interviewed before transformation is to take place.” While the parish calendar did not list the event, it is well publicized each year in San Francisco media aimed at a homosexual audience. Of course the San Francisco Gay Softball League publicized it. This year’s entry on the League’s website reads, “Switch-hitters Ball, June 11, 2011, 6:00pm - 10:00pm, Most Holy Redeemer’s Ellard Hall, 100 Diamond Street, SF.” The number of transvestites exiting cars in front of the church and entering the church hall on June 11 was notable even for a Saturday night in the Castro, and left no doubt as to the nature of the event. By 6:45 p.m., a boisterous crowd, almost exclusively male, had already filled the church hall. The packed room (capacity 325) included a number of male transvestites, as well as at least one apparent member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Past event held at Most Holy Redeemer have included the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Revival Bingo (cancelled by the archdiocese under outside pressure); annual fundraisers by two sado-masochistic organizations -- the InterClub Fund and the Golden Gate Guards (cancelled by the archdiocese under outside pressure); the 2007 Desperate Dive Drag Show, followed a week later by Archbishop George Niederauer’s Mass at the church during which he was ambushed by two Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in the communion line and for which the archbishop later publicly apologized; annual parish participation at the “Gay Pride” parade (cancelled by the archdiocese under outside pressure); the scheduled May 2010 performance by students of Sacred Heart High School of Atherton of the pro-homosexual propaganda play “Be Still and Know” (cancelled by the archdiocese under outside pressure, but performed instead at the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco), and this year’s planning session for Catholic participation in the “Gay Pride” parade, reported in CalCatholic on May 31. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence seem once again to be regular visitors to Most Holy Redeemer. In addition to their ongoing ridicule of Catholic women religious, their annual “Hunky Jesus” contest, held on Easter Sunday, is an obscene mockery of Jesus Christ. Next Saturday, June 18, members of the Gay Softball League and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will be back at Most Holy Redeemer. The church hall will host a spaghetti dinner benefiting the San Francisco Hotshots softball team. From the San Francisco Chronicle listing: “Saturday, June 18 6:00pm at Most Holy Redeemer Church, San Francisco, CA… Sister Pat and Eve and their bevy of Sisters will be serving up the spaghetti homestyle.” That event will also include a “drag show.” Here is a video taken at the event:   May 31, 2011: Most Holy Redeemer Church: From California Catholic Daily: “Fr. Steve has given us blessing and support” Most Holy Redeemer contingent plans return to this year’s ‘Gay Pride’ parade, other parishes invited After a brief hiatus, some parishioners at San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer Church apparently plan to return to full participation in this year’s ‘Gay Pride’ parade. In 2008, it appeared that the Archdiocese of San Francisco had finally cracked down and forced the parish to cease its longtime participation in the parade – although Most Holy Redeemer pastor Fr. Steven Meriwether said parishioners had chosen not to participate in the parade of their own volition. “It is really just our response to… well, we’re tired of the hate mail,” said Fr. Meriwether in 2008. “The parishioners see their participation in the parade as an evangelical outreach, but they don’t enjoy being called nasty names either. This wasn’t because of any request from the archdiocese.” But, as California Catholic Daily reported at the time, Maurice Healy, director of archdiocesan communications, said the chancery had requested that Most Holy Redeemer stay out of the 2008 ‘Pride Weekend,’ including the parade. “It was probably a combination of that and the archdiocese talking to them,” said Healy in 2008 when told that Fr. Meriwether had insisted parishioners made the decision not to participate. “At the parish level and the archdiocesan level, it probably was felt that it was a good idea.” Apparently, at least some parishioners at Most Holy Redeemer have had a change of heart. The May 15, May 22, and May 29 parish bulletins contained the item, “PRIDE Outreach: May 29th. Short planning meeting after 10:00am Mass in Ellard Hall. For more information, contact Jim DeWan,” followed by DeWan’s email address. DeWan currently serves on the Most Holy Redeemer Pastoral Council. Most Holy Redeemer’s bulletin is not the only place the parish’s participation is being promoted. It was also mentioned in the April 2011 issue of Communion, the monthly newsletter of “Catholics for Equality” -- an organization that both Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Military Service and Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., have said “cannot be legitimately recognized as Catholic.” The Communion entry reads: “I am very pleased to announce to you that Most Holy Redeemer will be participating and have a marching contingent at this year’s annual Pride Parade. We are doing this, not under the banner of MHR, but as private Catholic citizens. We have reached out to other Catholic parishes, and have received enthusiastic responses. Fr. Steve (Meriwether) has generously given us blessing and support in this effort. We will be registering and signing up for the parade, but at this point are most likely not to have a booth at the after parade festivities, but would very much be interested in doing so in future parades, and events.” The editor of Communion, who is also a founding member of Catholics for Equality, is Most Holy Redeemer parishioner Eugene McMullan. The entry also included DeWan’s contact information. While the 2008 archdiocesan statement referred to “this year’s parade,” it seems unlikely that the chancery’s objection to the parish’s participation in the 2008 parade has somehow been lifted. And, while the Communion entry noted that participation would not be “under the banner of MHR,” the parish is allowing organizers to meet on archdiocesan property, coordinate parishioners’ attendance at the event, and inviting members of other parishes to join them – with the apparent blessings of Fr. Meriwether. As noted, DeWan is a member of the Most Holy Redeemer Pastoral Council. Past members of the council include Matt Dorsey, who successfully lobbied the organizers of the 2009 “Pride” parade to bestow the sarcastic “Pink Brick” award on his own archbishop, the Most Reverend George Niederauer, for the archbishop’s public support of traditional marriage. Other former council members include Catherine Cunningham and former council president Roz Gallo, who are same-sex “married” to one another; and former council vice-president Patrick Mulcahey, who in 2010 taught workshops on the Master/slave lifestyle at the 2010 Master/slave Conference. April 21, 2011: Most Holy Redeemer Church, Other Archdiocesan Institutions From California Catholic Daily: “Divisive and exclusionary” Pair of religious order priests in Bay Area involved in ministry to homosexuals with links to dissidents Two priests, one serving in the Diocese of Oakland and the other in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, are offering questionable retreats for “LGBT Catholics” and have ties to groups with views at odds with Church teachings. One has even publicly supported same-sex marriage. The two are Fr. David Matz, C.PP.S. and Fr. Joe Nassal, C.PP.S. – both members of the Kansas City Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. The order was founded in Italy in 1815 by St. Gaspar de Bufalo. Missionaries of the Precious Blood serve in 20 countries around the world. Fr. Nassal, the vice-provincial of the order’s Kansas City province, is based at the Sonnino Mission House in Berkeley. Fr. Matz serves as “Assisting Clergy” at San Raphael’s parish in San Raphael in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The website of the Missionaries’ Kansas City Province includes an “Apostolate” section. One of the tabs is to the “Precious Blood Ministry of Justice,” which lists Fr. Matz as the contact, and consists of a single link, to a website called allbloodisprecious.com. The header banner of that website reads, “Precious Blood Ministry of Justice for Persons Who Are LGBT.” That is the “Precious Blood Ministry of Justice” in its entirety -- the page covers no other subject. (Note: following this story's publication the "all Blood is Precious" page was changed, and much of the material was removed. The original page can be found here.) The webpage is a forum for groups such as Call to Action and New Ways Ministry, both of which have been strongly condemned by the Church. The page also includes suggested prayers for “National Coming Out Day.” In addition, “An Open Letter to the Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church” from 2010 is included on the page. The letter says in part, “As Catholic pastors, we have become increasingly disturbed by the tone and, in some cases, content of documents and statements from the Vatican, bishops’ conferences and individual bishops on issues categorized under the heading of ‘homosexual’ or ‘gay/lesbian.’ We respect the teaching authority of the Church. Because of this, we find particularly troubling the increase in the use of violent and abusive language directed at any human person. Such language is inappropriate. This is especially so when addressing members of the community of the faithful. These divisive and exclusionary statements from the Church are contrary to sound pastoral practice.” The association with dissident groups like Call to Action and New Ways Ministry may be confined to the order’s Kansas City province. A search on the C.PP.S worldwide website returns no results for either “lgbt” or “gay.” The worldwide site does note that from Sept. 1 to Sept. 30 there will be an “Official Visitation” to the Kansas City Province. Both Fathers Matz and Nassal are highly regarded by “Catholics for Equality,” an organization that His Excellency Timothy Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Service, said “cannot be legitimately recognized as Catholic.” On December 8, 2010, Susan Gibbs, speaking for her boss, Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington DC, also said that Catholics for Equality is “… not a Catholic organization. It was formed in opposition to Catholic teaching.” Communion, the monthly newsletter of Catholics for Equality has promoted, and approvingly reviewed, a number of LGBT-targeted retreats led by the pair. Most recently, the March 2011 issue of Communion promoted a “Day of Reflection” at Sonnino Mission House on April 9 as “a Lenten-themed LGBT Day of Reflection with Joe Nassal and David Matz.” Although located within the Diocese of Oakland, the Sonnino Mission House is not one of the retreat centers recognized on the diocesan webpage. The August, 2010 issue of Communion published the following letter from Fr. Nassal, which said, in part: “Thank you for sending me your newsletter, Communion. I appreciate the information it conveys and the links you provide. … From a spiritual/theological viewpoint, it all depends on where we begin. Do we begin with the belief that we are created flawed (original sin) or do we begin with the premise that we are made in the image and likeness of God? I believe it is the latter which is why DIGNITY is such a powerful and appropriate name. We are made in God's image! Dave Matz and I were able to attend the Dignity Mass on Sunday and it was a prayerful and spirit-filled liturgy. The priest gave a wonderful reflection on ‘the other’ as ‘the beloved.’ Again, thanks for including me on your mailing list, and I look forward to meeting you in person! Joseph Nassal, CPPS Sonnino Mission House Berkeley.” In addition to leading the LGBT retreats, Fr. Matz has also led an Advent Vespers Service at San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer Church. He has also publicly supported same-sex “marriage.” In October of 2008, the web calendar of the Spectrum LGBT Center in San Rafael reported: “On Sunday, November 2nd, at 7:00 PM, leaders of diverse faith traditions invite the community to gather at First Presbyterian Church, 1510 Fifth Avenue, San Rafael for an interfaith gathering in support of same-sex marriage... Proposition 8 would eliminate that right. This event is a call to people of every faith, to say ‘No’ to injustice.” The webpage then listed “Speakers and Service Leaders” for the event. Included was “Father David Matz C.PP.S. Missionary of the Precious Blood.” April 13, 2011: The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco From California Catholic Daily: Expanding the Circle Conference Strategies for Undermining the Church From March 3 through 6, an Expanding the Circle conference was held at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. Expanding the Circle is an initiative of the California Institute of Integral Studies, and its stated purpose is “Creating an inclusive environment in higher education for LGBTQ students and studies.” Catholic universities were well represented. Titles of some of the workshops at the conference indicated the bias common to post-modern social science, that reality is a human construction: “Reimagining Sexual Desire and Spiritual Longing in Sacred Texts”; “Does G-d Really Hate Me: Reconstructing and Reinterpreting Challenging Religious Texts”; “(Re)vamping the Queericulum: Issues in the Teaching of Language and Sexuality”; “Imagining Queer Selves: LGBTQ Literature, Libraries, and the Coming Out Process”; and the near-parodic “Fostering Multivariate Inclusion: Multiple Marginalized Identities and the Interplay of Sexuality.” Others, while more crudely titled, were quite clear: “That’s SO Gay: Queering the Curriculum in High Schools through Community Collaboration”; “Ripe for the Picking: Queer-Themed FIGs (First-Year Interest Groups)”, and “Building a Successful LGBTQ Program at Catholic Institutions.” The following Catholic schools participated: College of the Holy Cross, DePaul University, Dominican University, Georgetown University, Loyola Marymount University, Marian University, Marquette University, Santa Clara University, St. Anselm College, St. Edward’s University, St. Joseph’s University, St. Louis University, and the University of San Francisco. One of the Catholic-led workshops was called “Ways of Proceeding: Deepening the Conversation between Campus Ministries & LBGTQ Communities,” described thusly: “The panelists will share their work at Catholic and Jesuit colleges in creating spaces for LGBTQ communities to work creatively and collaboratively with those in Campus Ministry. Panelists will explore how those working in Ministry can provide frameworks of legitimacy, care, and support for the creation of safe learning environments, and create support for students, faculty and staff. We will share our experiences and ask participants to come with their own in order to have an open conversation about the positive role that Campus Ministry can play in creating an inclusive campus.” The “Ways of Seeing” workshop was led by Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ, former head of University Ministry at USF; Fr. Jim Schexnayder, resource director at the Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry; and Sivagami Subbaraman, director of the LGBTQ Resource Center at Georgetown University. Another Catholic-led event at Expanding the Circle was “OUT THERE: A Conference Meeting of Scholars and Student Affairs Personnel Involved in LGBTQ Issues on Catholic and Jesuit Campuses.” From the description: “OUT THERE is a national meeting of scholars and student affairs personnel involved in LGBTQ issues on Catholic and Jesuit campuses….The purpose of this pre-conference meeting is to begin our exploration of how we can understand the nexus between sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in the context of Catholic and Jesuit values and principles in higher education. Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss their experiences and network with people from other Catholic institutions. Participants from other colleges and universities will be welcome.” Translation: here’s how you undermine the Church’s teaching regarding homosexuality on campus. Participants in the OUT THERE event included Mike Duffy, director of the Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought at USF; Shirley McGuire, professor of psychology and president of the LGBTQ Caucus at USF; Sara Solloway, director of Student Retention and Success Programs and outreach director of the LGBTQ Caucus at USF; Sivagami Subbaraman, director of the LGBTQ Resource Center at Georgetown; and Michael A. Zampelli, SJ, rector of the Santa Clara University Jesuit Community. Professor McGuire sits on the advisory board of the Lane Center at the USF, where she is joined by the openly homosexual Reverend Vincent Pizzuto, who abandoned his Catholic faith, and was ordained as a minister of the Celtic Christian Church in 2007. Despite his rejection of the Catholic faith, USF saw fit to name Reverend Pizzuto as director of the university’s Catholic Studies and Social Thought minor. McGuire and Pizzuto are joined on the Lane Center’s advisory board by Robert McElroy, auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of San Francisco. Note: Sometime after this story appeared Bishop McElroy's name was moved from the Lane Center's "Advisory Board" section to the "Past Advisory Board Members" section. April 13, 2011: Most Holy Redeemer Church From California Catholic Daily: Priest-author of Gay-oriented Plays Now Celebrating at Most Holy Redeemer Life at San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer, including the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, leather s/m groups, same-sex “married” persons in liturgical ministries, and open s/m leather advocates on the pastoral council and Worship committee have been chronicled by CalCatholic. None of these abuses seem to impress the Archdiocese of San Francisco; in 2010 they reappointed as pastor Father Steve Meriwether, under whose tenure many of the abuses occurred. Since at least August, 2010, masses at Most Holy Redeemer have frequently been celebrated by Father Harry Cronin, CSC. According to the website of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Father Cronin serves at the Holy Cross Center in Berkeley—outside of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Father Cronin is moderately well known. His fame is not as a priest, however. Father Cronin is a published dramatist. He has won awards for his work, including a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Father Cronin’s works include “Blind Faith,” “Dooley,” “Dark Matter,” “Exclusive,” and “Memoirs of Jesus,” which was performed at Most Holy Redeemer on March 20. A number of Father Cronin’s plays revolve around homosexuality. In 1986, Los Angeles’s Celebration Theater presented two one-act plays by Father Cronin: “Love of Comrades” and “In Love with Night.” The plays are not in print, but their content can be inferred by their inclusion in the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives and their performance at the Celebration Theater. The ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives describes Celebration Theatre as “…incorporated in 1982 as a community theater to celebrate the positive creative and cultural aspects of the gay and lesbian community of greater Los Angeles.” Father Cronin’s 1997 play “Dooley” is centered on the case of Dr. Thomas Dooley, a same-sex-attracted naval officer. The play is described, “Dooley, lecturing in New York, picks up a young sailor named Carroll, later revealed as an agent for the U. S. Navy. They go to Dooley’s lavish hotel room. A dance of fear and seduction follows, in which Dooley attempts to seduce Carroll, despite his conflicted feelings. Dooley knows his Navy career will be over if his homosexuality is revealed, as sodomy is illegal. Carroll, on the other hand, openly responds to Dooley’s subtle invitations, hoping to get him to admit his homosexuality. The contest of sex and danger reveals Dooley’s innermost conflicts as well as the cruelty of the Navy’s attitude towards homosexuals.” Another play by Father Cronin is “Exclusive.” The Dollee.com playwright’s website describes the 1997 work: “Tony Corvina has gone to interview fading Hollywood star Mark Trakman. Mark, knowing that Tony is gay, seductively only wears a short bathrobe.” “Blind Faith” premiered at the 2009 New Conservatory Theatre Pride Season in San Francisco. Pride Season is a venue for homosexualist or transgenderist works. The Coming Out Support News website’s Gay Agenda section has a description of the play: “Two teen boys fall in love in conservative Colorado Springs.” On March 30, 2009, “Blind Faith” was also performed at the First Stage theatre in Hollywood. First Stage’s blurb for the play: “The difficulty with ‘coming out’ to a conservative community.” Father Cronin is not alone. He joins other celebrants at Most Holy Redeemer such as Father Tom Bonacci, a former subcommittee member of Dignity USA, who also gave a workshop at Dignity’s 2009 convention, and Father Donal Godfrey, whose July 25, 2010 homily at Most Holy Redeemer opened, “If you signed on for a Facebook account this week you might have been the 500th million person to do so. I posted an update Friday saying: ‘Struggling writing a homily for the Sunday Masses at Most Holy Redeemer.’ By last evening there were seventeen comments and four people liked it! Former parishioners Jamie Cherrie and his husband Jim Gunther sent supportive messages….” March 1, 2011 The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco: From California Catholic Daily: Queer art and abortion USF’s 2011 “Global Women’s Rights Forum” From March 7-10, the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco will host its 10th Annual Global Women’s Rights Forum. The forum is co-sponsored by USF’s Sociology Department, and again promises to be a venue for viewpoints difficult to square with the university’s Catholic identity. CalCatholic reported on last year’s Global Women’s Rights Forum, which included representatives from organizations that provide and refer for abortions (‘Abortionfest at USF,’ March 8, 2010). The 2011 event also includes speakers who have served at the highest levels for groups that lobby for and provide funding to pro-abortion activists. The event will open at the Studio Theater of USF’s Lone Mountain College. Opening night performers will include Jessica Robinson Love, the lesbian same-sex “married” director of Counterpulse, a “provocative” San Francisco theater space; Lenelle Moise, an openly lesbian woman who has performed at the National Queer Arts, Homoagogo and Estrojam Festivals, and Amara Tabor-Smith, who is one of the curators for the June 2011 “This is What I Want” festival. “This is What I Want” is an official event of the 2011 “National Queer Arts Festival.” One of the event’s “keynote speakers” is Amina Mama. She is currently the director of Women’s and Gender Studies at UC Davis. From 2005-2010, Mama chaired the Board of Directors for the Global Fund for Women (GFW). In her introduction to the GFW’s 2006-2007 annual report, Mama said, “20 years after its inception, the Global Fund for Women is still the largest funder in the world solely focused on women’s organizations, having doubled its work to an annual grantmaking budget of $8.2 million.” The annual report specifies the 195 organizations in 77 countries that received grants from the GFW in 2006-2007. To list the organizations that are objectionable from a Catholic standpoint would be beyond the scope of this article. In Latin America alone, and covering nations from A to N, groups funded by the GFW include Argentina’s Coordinating Commission of the National Campaign for the Right to Abortion, which received $60,000 over three years; Bolivia’s Association for the Holistic Development of Lesbian, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Women ($35,000 over two years); Brazil’s Catholics for Free Choice ($20,000); Chile’s Organizing Committee of the7th Latin America and Caribbean Feminist Lesbian Encuentro ($16,000); Costa Rica’s Collective for the Right to Choose Association ($5,000); Ecuador’s Ecuatorian Lesbian Women’s Organization ($15,000); Mexico’s Information Group on Reproductive Choice ($30,000 over 2 years); and Nicaragua’s Campaign for the Decriminalization of Abortion ($20,000). Another “keynote speaker” is Professor Sunera Thobani. She is currently a professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of British Columbia. From 1993-1996, Thobani also served as chairman and president of Canada’s National Action Committee on the Status of Women, better known in Canada as the NAC. Many Americans will not have heard of this organization, but the comparable organization in the United States would be the National Organization for Women (NOW). Although now a shadow of its former self, it has been estimated that NAC and its affiliated groups at one time represented more than 3 million people. In 2004, LifeSiteNews reported: “Since its founding in 1972, the NAC has been a lobbying juggernaut for the full range of pro-abortion, feminist and anti-family measures at the federal level and internationally. For nearly thirty years the NAC and its affiliated organizations directed national policy on every conceivable issue affecting families. Its influence was felt in Revenue Canada, Canadian foreign policy at the United Nations, Child and Family services, legal challenges on ‘gay rights,’ and the suppression of religious freedom through the courts.” The forum will close with a presentation by Madeleine Lim, executive director of the Queer Women of Color Media Art Project. Lim also serves as an adjunct professor of Media Studies at USF. The group’s website says the subject will be “genderqueer feminism and social justice feminism.” Following the forum, USF’s President’s Advisory Council on the Status of Women will present an award for “exceptional commitment to the promotion of gender justice at USF, in the larger city, national, or global community. Gender Justice is the active promotion of equal, just, and dignified treatment of individuals regardless of sex, gender, or sexualities, and the remedying of inequalities on these bases…. Awards will be presented at a reception celebrating the 10th annual Global Women’s Rights Forum, Thursday evening, March 10, 2011. PACSW will make a small donation to a nonprofit organization of each awardee’s choice.” All events are free and open to the public. February 28, 2011 (Archdiocesan Schools, Most Holy Redeemer Church): From California Catholic Daily: No time for ‘contrasting viewpoints’ ‘Womanpriest’ invited to discuss anti-Vatican film about women’s ordination at Catholic high school in San Francisco Students at a Catholic prep school for girls in San Francisco were encouraged to view parts of a film sympathetic to the ordination of women and a ‘womanpriest’ was invited to discuss it with students, the campus newspaper reported earlier this month. The Feb. 17 issue of The Broadview, the student newspaper of the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco reported: “Tomorrow, during Principal’s Meeting students are scheduled to watch portions of the documentary ‘Pink Smoke Over the Vatican’ and participate in a presentation about women attempting to become ordained by the Catholic Church. The Rev. Victoria Rue will be interviewed by Women’s Studies students about her own ordination experience.” Convent of the Sacred Heart High School is one of four schools in San Francisco operated by the Religious of the Sacred Heart. The order also runs Stuart Hall High School for boys and two K-8 schools. Tuition for the high schools for the 2010-11 academic year is $32,500. “Pink Smoke Over the Vatican” is a 2010 film produced and directed by Jules Hart and distributed by Eyegoddess Films. The Eyegoddess Films website describes the film this way: “Pink Smoke Over the Vatican is a documentary film about the controversial movement of women seeking to be ordained as priests in the Roman Catholic Church. On June 3, 2008, The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is the modern name for The Holy Office of the Inquisition, issued a sweeping order of excommunication for ‘the crime of attempting sacred ordination of a woman.’ Pink Smoke Over the Vatican chronicles the events that led up to this severe punishment and tells the stories of the determined women and men who, through the forbidden and illicit path of female ordination, are working to end the underlying misogyny and outdated feudal governance that is slowly destroying the Roman Catholic Church.” Victoria Rue, the woman identified in the Broadview report as the speaker invited to discuss the film with students, describes herself on her website as a “Roman Catholic Woman Priest,” and relates how she made that happen: “In 1997 I co-founded and con-celebrated a feminist, inclusive Eucharist with 12 other women and hundreds of witnesses on the former site of the Oakland cathedral in California. With this act, we claimed that we are all priests.” The Vatican has made it explicitly clear that women’s ordinations to the priesthood are impossible and that participants in such sham ceremonies are automatically excommunicated. But Roman Catholic Womenpriests has posted a statement on its website spurning the ruling of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the subject. According to her webpage, Rue offers the following “Services and Sacraments:” Baptisms, Marriages, Funerals, The Celebration of the Eucharist, Spiritual Guidance and ministry to LGBT people. She also says she celebrates “Bi-monthly Feminist Masses at the chapel of Trinity Episcopal Church” in San Francisco. Rue is also an open lesbian and homosexual activist. “In 1990 my partner Kathryn Poethig and I celebrated a ceremony of commitment with our families and friends,” says her website. “…Through the years we have worked for a more body positive theology, as well as the inclusion and ordination of lesbian and gay people in both the Protestant and Catholic churches.” Rue has an affiliation with Dignity USA dating back to at least 1998. In June 2009 CalCatholic reported that Rue gave a seminar at the Dignity USA convention in San Francisco entitled, “Valid but Illicit: Being a Roman Catholic Lesbian Priest.” The screening of “Pink Smoke Over the Vatican” at Convent of the Sacred Heart High is not the first time a school run by the Religious of the Sacred Heart has been associated with exposing students to a view of human sexuality contrary to the magisterium of the Church. In March 2009 CalCatholic reported on plans by students at Sacred Heart High School of Atherton, just south of San Francisco, to present the pro-homosexual play “Be Still and Know” at San Francisco’s notoriously ‘gay-friendly’ Most Holy Redeemer parish. San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer forced the performance to be cancelled. The principal of Sacred Heart of Atherton, Jim Everitt, was also serving as a lector at Most Holy Redeemer. CalCatholic has learned that Ray O’Connor, department chair of Religion/Theology at Stuart Hall, Convent of the Sacred Heart’s sister school, is a member of the seven-person Worship Committee at Most Holy Redeemer. O’Connor is the coordinator of lectors for the church. Last year, the Broadview reported that O’Connor led a group of Convent students to Most Holy Redeemer. Following the screening of “Pink Smoke Over the Vatican” at Convent of the Sacred Heart High, Paul Pryor Lorentz, chair of the Theology/Philosophy Department at CSH, and Andrea Shurley, CSH’s Head of School, sent an email to parents. “Today we had a guest speaker who shared her views on the role of women in the Catholic Church,” said the email. “Her viewpoint was carefully and intelligently shared, and our Women’s Studies students led a question and answer session. Unfortunately, given our time constraints, we did not have the opportunity to allow exploration of contrasting viewpoints.” Nowhere in this email were parents informed of the identity of the speaker. February 22, 2011 (Catholic Charities CCCYO, Most Holy Redeemer Church): From California Catholic Daily: Ties to the homosexual power structure Honorary committee for Catholic Charities of San Francisco annual fundraiser includes politicians well known for their opposition to Church teachings On March 4, Catholic Charities of San Francisco (CCCYO) will host its annual Loaves and Fishes Fundraising dinner at the upscale St. Regis hotel in San Francisco. As is the case every year, the honorary committee includes a number of local politicians. And, as usual these politicians are completely and without exception actively opposed to the Church’s teaching on issues of life or the family. The 2010 event included then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and openly homosexual and pro-pornography San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty. This year’s honorary committee includes some new faces. All are members of the Democratic Party. All hold positions on same-sex “marriage” and abortion, in contradiction to those of the Catholic Church -- two issues which Pope Benedict has called non-negotiable. One is state Sen. S. Joseph Simitian, D-Palo Alto. Project VoteSmart, which measures a politician’s loyalty to various interest groups reports that since 2001 Sen. Simitian has never received other than a 100% rating from both NARAL-California and Planned Parenthood. VoteSmart also reports that between 2001 and 2009, Sen. Simitian received a 100% rating from Equality California six times: in the other two years his rating was 80% and 89%. Another honorary committee member is state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco. VoteSmart reports that since 2003 Yee has never received a less than 100% rating from NARAL-California or Planned Parenthood. Since 2003 Yee has never received a less than 100% rating from Equality California. A third honorary committee member is U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma. VoteSmart reports that since 1999 she has never, not once, received other than a 100% rating from NARAL or Planned Parenthood. On her website Rep. Woolsey said she was “thrilled that on May 15, 2008, the California State Supreme Court issued its decision overturning the ban on same sex marriage and affirming that gay and lesbian couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples. Although this ruling is a landmark achievement, we still face challenges ahead and must do everything we can to uphold this decision.” A fourth is openly homosexual Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco. He has been in the Assembly only since 2008, but has a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood and NARAL-California. He also has a 100% rating from Equality California. A fifth is the president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors David Chiu. On January 22, while 50,000 Californians and half dozen Catholic bishops, including CCCYO Chairman of the Board Archbishop George Niederauer, were standing up for life in San Francisco at the Walk for Life West Coast, Supervisor Chiu was opposing the Walk at the tiny opposition rally. SocialistWorker.org reported: “Protesters emphasized the fact that San Francisco is a pro-choice town, which was re-enforced by San Francisco Supervisor David Chiu, the first speaker at the rally.” The honorary committee also includes, as in years past, Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Ross Mirkarimi, both of whom signed San Francisco’s anti-Catholic Resolution 168-06, which called the Catholic Church “hateful” and “discriminatory.” As CalCatholic reported on Feb. 17, that resolution resulted in a lawsuit by San Francisco Catholics, which is currently being petitioned for a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. The presence of so many anti-Catholic and openly homosexual politicians on CCCYO’s honorary committee may be explained in part by the fact that in 2010 government and contract revenue amounted to over two-thirds of the organization’s operating revenue. But CCCYO has long ties to San Francisco’s homosexual power structure. Assemblyman Ammiano’s involvement dates at least to 1997 and the forcing of CCCYO to pay benefits to the “domestic partners” of its employees, and Supervisor Dufty, a past “Loaves and Fishes” honorary committee member, consulted with CCCYO in 2006 over the partnership with Family Builders by Adoption. That partnership resulted in CCCYO’s working to place adoptive children in homosexual households. At least four of the 32 members of CCCYO’s Board of Directors -- a wildly out of proportion number -- are members of San Francisco’s ‘gay-friendly’ Most Holy Redeemer Church. That number is far higher than from any other parish in the archdiocese. December 7, 2010 (Most Holy Redeemer). From the California Catholic Daily: Ecumenism, Most Holy Redeemer style Advent Vespers series at ‘gay-friendly’ SF parish features non-Catholic ministers – but all share pro-homosexual viewpoint Beginning on Dec. 1, San Francisco’s “gay-friendly” Most Holy Redeemer parish began the first in a series of weekly Advent Vespers services featuring leaders from ministers of non-Catholic religions. Whatever their religion, the ministers are united in professing the one seemingly essential dogma at Most Holy Redeemer – approval of homosexuality. According to a parish flyer about the vespers series, the Dec. 1 service was led by Episcopal Rev. Jay Emerson Johnson. Rev. Johnson is a member of the doctoral faculty at the Graduate Theological Union and a staff member at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. His biographical page on the CLGS website says, “His current research and writing interests involve the intersections of queer theory and Christian traditions.” As is the case with all of the other Advent Vespers leaders, Rev. Johnson is a supporter of same-sex “marriage.” At an Aug. 10 “Interfaith Prop 8” event at San Francisco’s Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, Rev. Johnson said: “…religious leaders need to understand that ‘tolerance’ is not good enough and acceptance is only marginally better. Healing the deep wounds inflicted by religious institutions will happen only when our faith communities recognize LGBTQ people as a divine gift in their midst – a heavenly, fabulous gift that, rather ironically, our religious communities now need for their own revitalization.” Fr. Steven Meriwether, pastor of Most Holy Redeemer, will lead the Dec. 8 service. The Dec. 15 service will be led by Rev. Jeff Bert. Rev. Bert has served as associate pastor at Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco for the past two years. The Metropolitan Community Church is a confessional body of approximately 250 congregations founded in 1968. It counts 43,000 members in 22 countries. The founding and organizing principle of the MCC is that homosexuality is to be celebrated. From the MHR Vespers flyer: “Rev. Bert has a deep respect for the Roman Catholic liturgy and tradition, having grown up Catholic and studied several years for the priesthood.” His biographical page on the MCC San Francisco webpage describes his spiritual journey: “He worked for a while in the corporate world before pursuing ordination for the priesthood through studies and varied service for several years in the Catholic Church. Deciding to come out as a gay man, he left that path and became a licensed sports massage therapist. He also served as director of volunteers at a large homeless shelter in Tampa, Florida. While living in Tampa, Jeff decided to seek ordination in the Metropolitan Community Churches.” The Dec. 22 service will be led by Ms. Kaya Oakes. Ms. Oakes teaches writing at UC Berkeley, and is currently writing a memoir about life as a liberal Catholic. The “Causes I Support” section of her Red Room writer profile page includes “Repeal Proposition 8.” According to Most Holy Redeemer, Ms. Oakes is a member of the lay preaching team at Newman Hall/Holy Spirit Parish in Berkeley. This is not the first connection between Newman Hall/Holy Spirit and Most Holy Redeemer. On September 29, 2009, California Catholic Daily reported that Holy Spirit Parish hosted a recitation of the “relational mysteries of the rosary” -- the so-called “Queer Rosary.” The “queer rosary” was invented by Eugene McMullan, founding member of the pro same-sex “marriage” group Catholics for Equality. In a comment on the "Queering the Church" website dated September 12, 2010, Mr. McMullan wrote: "I began to develop the Relational Mysteries a few years ago when, as a practicing Roman Catholic layperson, I would pray with the rosary group on Sunday mornings at Most Holy Redeemer parish in San Francisco." For more on what MHR understands to be acceptable ecumenism, visit our "Most Holy Redeemer: Ecumenism" page. October 16, 2010 (Most Holy Redeemer Church): San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer hosted a fundraiser for the Castro Country Club. Guests include a number of same-sex attracted San Francisco politicians. The politicians were Scott Weiner, Rafael Mandelman, and Rebecca Prozan, all homosexualist, and all of whom were running for San Francisco Supervisor for district 8. Prozan is “married” to another woman. The homosexualist newspaper the San Francisco Bay Times reported: “The Castro Country Club filled a room at Holy Redeemer Church on Oct. 16 for their Harvest Festival Banquet with more than 150 people for a benefit for the club.” The Castro Country Club, an organization that fights alcoholism, was, interestingly enough, founded by a Catholic Priest, Fr. Joseph Healy. On November 11, 2007, the webpage of Most Holy Redeemer announced: "Congratulations and Welcome, Fr. Joe! The MHR family welcomes Fr. Joseph Healy, a 'son of the parish' who has been assigned to Most Holy Redeemer as Parochial Vicar. We wish you many happy and successful years here at MHR." Why “son of the parish”? In his book on Most Holy Redeemer, “Gays and Grays: the story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer” Fr. Donal Godfrey SJ, explains: "The Castro Country Club was founded by an openly gay parishioner at MHR, Joseph Healy; Healy has since become a priest in the diocese of San Francisco." Fr. Healy passed away in 2009—may he rest in peace. The SF Bay Times story continued: “The three-layer chocolate mousse truffle torte with wild berry compote was delicious and briefly distracted diners from staring at honored guest Michael Brandon, who is a champion charity fundraiser and provocative erotic film star and stage performer.” That is a roundabout way of saying that an ostensibly Catholic Church hosted a homosexualist porn star. Brandon’s website describes him as a “producer, director, and porn star award winner” and the site contains an obscenity disclaimer and requests persons under 18 years of age not to enter the site. Brandon was not the only questionable character in attendance. Quite in keeping with Most Holy Redeemer practices, the event was emceed by a well known San Francisco drag queen who goes by the name “Ivy Drip”, also known for headlining “Adults Only” events. Apparently the organizers were a little concerned about allowing a “Catholic” church to host their event, but the SF Bay Times reported: “Controversy was averted when it was made clear that no room rent was paid for the space.” There was no mention of fear of controversy or scandal on the Most Holy Redeemer end. September 29, 2010, (Most Holy Redeemer, The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco): Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ is no longer serving as the Executive Director at University Ministry at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. Godfrey's departure comes on the heels of the revelation that his long-time associate Patrick Mulcahey, has, over a number of years, been teaching and moderating workshops on the Master/slave and sado-masochistic lifestyle. (See entry for September 3, 2010, immediately below). As recently as August 30, 2010, according to a cached webpage from the ministry's site, Fr. Godfrey was still serving as Executive Director of the Ministry. Sometime between August 30 and September 15, 2010, Fr. Godfrey was replaced by Ms. Julia Dowd, a layperson. Fr. Godfrey will continue to serve as one of the ministry's five "Associate Directors." Fr. Godfrey was appointed on August 1, 2007. His views on the Church's position on homosexuality were already quite well known: In 2002 he was one of the panelists at the University's "New Jewish & Christian Approaches to Homosexuality" symposium (where he quoted Mr. Mulcahey extensively). In 2006, he gave a homily at San Francisco's predominantly homosexual Most Holy Redeemer Church on "Finding God in the Erotic." The homily was published in the "Gay Catholic Forum." In April 2007, he celebrated the famous "Gay Service" at Most Holy Redeemer, which was broadcast worldwide on "BBC Radio4." Immediately following his appointment, Lexington Books published "Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish." Fr. Godfrey had been working on the book for much of the decade. On March 3, 2008, Godfrey plugged the book in an Australian publication called Eurekastreet.com/au in an article titled "Towards a church apology for gay prejudice." On March 9, 2008, Godfrey gave another homily at Most Holy Redeemer "The Call to Come Out." The homily likens Jesus's calling Lazarus to come out of the tomb to same-sex attracted persons coming out of "the closet." That homily was also published in the "Gay Catholic Forum." On July 18, 2008 Godfrey visited World Youth Day in Australia. He attended an "Acceptance" forum. "Acceptance" --"gay, lesbian, bisexual, & transgender Catholics"--is the Australian version of "DignityUSA." The Australian Church did not allow Acceptance to attend the official World Youth Day events. September 3, 2010, (Most Holy Redeemer, The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco) The California Catholic Daily reports that Mr. Patrick Mulcahey, a past parish council vice-president and current Eucharistic Minister at Most Holy Redeemer parish was presenting workshops at the “Master/slave Conference 2010” which was held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Silver Springs, Maryland on September 3-6. From the article: “The workshop presenters biographical page has this to say about Mr. Mulcahey: 'Patrick has been tying men up and doing unspeakable things to them for 35 years. He has presented on M/s, leather and BDSM [bondage discipline sado-masochism] topics in the Bay Area and currently serves as vice chairman and special events chair of the 15 Association, a men’s leather/BDSM club celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. He lives in San Francisco with his slave Patrick where he earns his living as a writer….'” This not the first time Mr. Mulcahey has led such events. Follow this link for more information. The article further revealed a long standing relationship between Mr. Mulcahey and Fr. Donal Godfrey,SJ, immediate past Executive Director of University Ministry, (and current Associate Director of University Ministry at USF) dating back at least to 2001: “In 2002, at USF’s New Jewish and Christians Approaches to Homosexuality symposium, Father Godfrey cited Most Holy Redeemer as an example, and quoted Mr. Mulcahey at length. In April 2003, at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Father Godfrey offered a preliminary version of his 2007 history of Most Holy Redeemer as partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree of Doctor of Ministry. When the history was published in 2007, under the title Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, the first person Father Godfrey chose to acknowledge and thank for his support was Patrick Mulcahey. Gays and Grays quotes Mulcahey numerous times." The direct quote from the very first page of Gays and Grays in which Fr. Godfrey’s acknowledges and thanks Mr. Mulcahey reads: "Three others gave special support. They are Patrick Mulcahey, Dr. Patti Jung, and Robert Garrett . Patrick Mulcahey is a friend, three time Emmy-winning writer, and parishioner at Most Holy Redeemer." The California Catholic Daily article continues to describe the ongoing relationship between the two men. Fr. Godfrey obviously considers Mr. Mulcahey to be an authoritative voice: “On March 3, 2008, in the Australian online Jesuit publication EurekaStreet.com.au, Godfrey quoted Mulcahey again. On December 2, 2008, Books, Inc., located in San Francisco’s Castro District, hosted a discussion of Gays and Grays with Father Godfrey. The homosexualist publication, the Bay Area Reporter, published a blurb for the event: “Executive director of University Ministry at the University of San Francisco, and author of Gays and Grays: The Story of the Gay Community at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church discusses his book and the gay-inclusive parish; writer Patrick Mulcahey joins the discussion.” July 16, 2010 (Most Holy Redeemer Church): On July 16, 2010, Catholic San Francisco, the newspaper of the Archdiocese, reported that Fr. Stephen Meriwether has been reappointed to a second six-year term as Pastor of Most Holy Redeemer. Fr. Meriwether has served as pastor of San Francisco's Most Holy Redeemer Parish since 2004. During his pastorate Most Holy Redeemer parish has (partial list): • marched three times in San Francisco's Gay Pride parade. • On four separate occasions it has hosted sado-masochistic "leather" organization functions at the church hall, which were published in San Francisco's homosexualist press. • Its "Young Adult Group" were presented as debutants at the 2007 Transgender San Francisco Cotillion, escorted by transgender Eucharistic Minister "Lisa Rae" Dummer, who was the producer ofthe event. • On September 29, 2007 it hosted the "SF Desperate Divas 2008 Drag Grand Calendar Pageant" in the parish hall--also publicized in the homosexualist press. • The following week the parish welcomed two Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at Mass, who received the Blessed Sacrament from the hands of Archbishop Niederauer himself, causing an international scandal. • The week after that, in the midst of the firestorm, the church bulletin printed a letter from "Sister Delta Goodhand," (one of two who received communion) thanking the parish for the warm welcome the preceding Sunday. Apparently, the Archdiocese thinks he is doing a good job. June 8, 2010 (Most Holy Redeemer): Michael Nava, a parishioner and Eucharistic Minister at San Francisco’s Most Holy Redeemer Church was the leading vote getter in yesterday's election to seat 15 on the San Francisco Superior Court. With 99% of the ballots counted, Nava leads incumbent Richard Ulmer 45-42%. The two men will face each other in a runoff election in the fall. The “Nava for Judge” website says: “Since 2004, he (Nava) has been a judicial staff attorney for Carlos R. Moreno, Associate Justice of the court, perhaps best known for his dissent in the Proposition 8 case in which he defended the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Michael is also involved in the community as an active parishioner at Most Holy Redeemer and was a member of the board of directors of the GLBT Historical Society….In October 2008, just before Proposition 8 banned same-sex marriage, Justice Moreno married Michael and his partner, George Herzog, an oncology nurse." Mr. Nava is indeed an "active parishioner" at MHR. The Most Holy Redeemer Eucharistic Minister schedule for June-September 2008 lists Mr. Nava as Eucharistic Minister for the Church. That brings to eight (by our count) same-sex "married" persons serving in liturgical ministries at MHR. May 23, 2010 (Most Holy Redeemer): On Sunday, May 23, 2010 Most Holy Redeemer Church will host the “Great District 8 Chili Cook-Off” to help raise funds to rebuild an orphanage that was destroyed in the Chilean earthquake. The event is organized by the Rainbow World Fund. District 8 is the political district where Most Holy Redeemer is located, hence the name. According to the homosexualist publication the Bay Area Reporter, “Emcees for the event will be current District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty and Sister Roma of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.” This marks the “Sisters” first public return to Most Holy Redeemer since October 7, 2007, when the Sisters embarrassed His Excellency George Niederauer by presenting themselves for communion in their conventional attire. The blasphemy drew international attention and outrage. In the media firestorm that followed, MHR took the side of the Sisters against the Archdiocese. In the week following the blasphemy, the MHR even published a letter in their parish bulletin from one of the offending “Sisters,” thanking the parish for their welcome. The Wikipedia entry for "Sister Roma "says he is “an American drag performer, social rights activist, and art director of gay pornography….Roma is the art director at gay pornography studio Hot House Entertainment and co-hosts an online live-format talk show about the adult pornography industry.” In addition to being a professional pornography director, “Sister Roma” has MC’d the horrific Folsom Street Fair. In 2008, he posed as “Mary Magdalene” in the notorious poster for the 2008 Folsom Street Fair. The poster was a take-off of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” with men and women in leather attire posed as the apostles, and various whips and BDSM restraint devices scattered around the table. The poster caused outrage among Christians all over the country. Sister Roma has also acted as Emcee at the SPI’s “Hunky Jesus” contest. The “Hunky Jesus” contest is an annual San Francisco event that takes place on Easter Sunday. It is a mockery of the Crucifixion. Men dress up as what they think Jesus looked like, and prizes are awarded for what is considered to be the best costume. The 2010 “winner” was “Junky Jesus,” who wore a loincloth covered with syringes. The relationship between the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Most Holy Redeemer goes back many years: “When I spoke with Sr. (Cleta Harold) about entering RCIA, I was clearly not about to compromise anything regarding my sexuality. I didn’t go into a lot of details, but I showed up in my Levis and leather jacket and talked about my background as a Gay activist, clearly not about to change that…I talked about my background with witchcraft and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and my disagreements with certain points of the catechism. Sister never batted an eyelash, but asked if I could show up Sunday mornings at 8.” --Jack Fertig (aka “Sister Boom Boom” of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence) "Gays and Grays" by Fr. Donal Godfrey, p 42. Fr. Godfrey says the episode described above happened “some years” after 1982. Apparently, Sr. Cleta’s instruction did not take—in 2001, Mr. Fertig converted to Islam, and currently works as an astrologer. In 2006, the SPI hosted “Revival Bingo” at Most Holy Redeemer, where prizes included dildos, etc. Outrage expressed at the time caused the Archdiocese to force MHR to discontinue the events. Sunday’s event is scheduled to be keynoted by the Consul General of Chile Alex Geiger. It is possible that Senor Geiger does not know with whom he will be sharing the stage. May 22, 2010; The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. The USF School of Law celebrates their 2010 commencement exercises. The Commencement speaker and honoree is Attorney Dale Minami. The California Catholic Daily reports "Minami is an outspoken and effective advocate for same-sex “marriage.” On Dec. 8, 2007 Minami, Lew and Tamaki sponsored the Holiday Love 2007 Fundraiser in San Francisco. The fundraiser benefited “Asian Pacific Islander Equality” (API Equality), an advocacy group supporting same sex “marriage.” Mr. Minami will also be awarded an honorary USF degree." The invocation was given by Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ, who defined the Jesuit mission as the "building of a more just and humane world." The ceremony also included the presentation of the 2010 "Distinguished Professor" award to Professor Julie Nice. April 16, 2010: Catholic Charities CYO CCCYO holds it's 2010 "Loaves and Fishes" Fundraiser. The "Honorary Committee" includes Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; openly homosexual San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty; and San Francisco Supervisors Sean Elsbernd, and Scott Mirkarimi. On March 21, 2006, each of the supervisors signed Resolution 168-06, which called the Catholic Church “hateful and discriminatory” for teaching that a child should be brought up in a home with a mother and a father. Resolution 168-06 was issued as a final result of CCCYO's adoption policy. Other committee members include Mayor Gavin Newsom, who in 2004 defied state law by issuing same-sex “marriage” licenses; former CCCYO Executive Director Brian Cahill, who donated $1000 to oppose Proposition 8; Sen. Diane Feinstein, who has a career 100% approval rating from NARAL. Even in such company, Supervisor Bevan Dufty stands out. In addition to signing resolution 168-06, Dufty supported the sado-masochistic pornographers Kink.com in their effort to turn San Francisco’s Armory into a porn studio. The project provoked neighborhood opposition, and in early 2007 Dufty met with Peter Acworth, the owner of Kink.com. The meeting was videotaped and published Feb. 2, 2007 on the Kink.com website. Dufty’s attitude toward pornography, expressed in the video, is that there is not enough of it: “I hear you do a lot of lesbian content, which is a good… there’s not a lot of lesbian content [out there]… so that’s a good thing.”   February 26, 2010: The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco The USF School of Law will hosts a symposium called “The Future of Same-Sex Marriage.” 10 of the 24 panelists or moderators contributed financially to the “No on Proposition 8” campaign, in amounts ranging from $100 to $5000. There is not a single donor to the “Yes on Proposition 8” campaign either as a panelist or moderator. The symposium consists of five panels: 1) Crunching the Numbers: Examining empirical data regarding the material consequences of denying or recognizing same-sex marriage. 2) Analyzing the Federal Challenge: Discussing the federal constitutional challenge to California's Proposition 8 and similar litigation. 3) Mobilizing Movements: Exploring the roles of competing social movements in shaping the future of marriage. 4) Protecting Families: Examining the emerging focus on questions about parenting children and securing families. 5) Exercising Religion: Considering the intersection of religion and anti-discrimination law in the context of same-sex marriage. There is one supporter of natural marriage at the symposium, Vincent McCarthy, Senior Counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice. The ACLJ filed an amicus brief on behalf of several members of California’s Congressional delegation in the case challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which currently awaits the decision of Judge Vaughn Walker. Mr. McCarthy’s presence balances the presence of Therese Stewart, Chief Deputy City Attorney for the City of San Francisco, who won the 2008 “Marriages” case, and who will give the keynote address—but there the balance ends. While there are only two representative of openly activist organizations (Brad Sears, Executive Director, The Charles R. Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA; and Molly McKay, National Media Director, Marriage Equality USA) the symposium is filled with activist lawyers. An examination of the participants in a randomly chosen panel (#4, "Protecting Families") reveals: • Prof. Annette Appell, Washington University School of Law, “a champion in the field of gay adoption” ( "Gay Parenthood and the Revolution of the Modern Family," Nicholas Arnsten, University of Connecticut 2009, p. 29) • Prof. June Carbone, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, who apparently does not take opposition to same-sex “marriage” seriously: “In Ohio, an all important bellwether state with an anti-gay marriage proposition on the ballot designed to increase turnout among evangelicals…” ( “Red Families v. Blue Familes,” with Naomi Cahn, p. 19.) Emphasis added. • Prof. Courtney Joslin, whose UC Davis School of Law bio page states: “Prior to joining the faculty at UC Davis, Professor Joslin served as an attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), where she litigated cases on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families.” • Prof. Melissa Murray, UC Berkeley, School of Law, who is one of the “experts” UC Berkeley provides on the issue of same-sex “marriage.” “Murray, along with Herma Hill Kay and Joan Hollinger, signed an amicus brief filed by a group of law professors in support of same-sex marriage.” There's no reason to consider the ideological balance of the other panels to be any healthier. For instance, the "Exercising Religion: Considering the intersection of religion and anti-discrimination law in the context of same-sex marriage" panel has three participants: Prof. Alan Brownstein, UC Davis, School of Law, who donated $500 to oppose Proposition 8; Prof. Dale Carpenter, University of Minnesota Law School, who donated $2200 to oppose Proposition 8; and Prof. Doug Ne Jaime, Loyola Law School, who donated $475 to oppose Proposition 8. December 9, 2009 (Most Holy Redeemer Church): The California Catholic Daily publishes an article titled: "Public Sex Tents and Other SF Issues Did Most Holy Redeemer Bless “Marriages” Following Prop 8?" Excerpt: On January 6, 2009, following an incidence of vandalism at the Church (Most Holy Redeemer) in the aftermath of Proposition 8, Dufty sponsored a resolution condemning the act. Speaking before the board of supervisors Dufty said “At Most Holy Redeemer I feel they have succeeded with the struggle of honoring and affirming their LGBT parishioners and at the same time adhering to the doctrines of the church which sometimes are difficult to understand.” Duffy then dropped a bombshell: “So for this act to take place on a church which works so hard and the Sunday after the November election when Proposition 8 passed, all of the congregants who had been married since June (when the Supreme Court declared same-sex “marriage” legal) were asked to stand and to receive the blessing at the church.” The transcript of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting where Supervisor Dufty made the comment can be found here. November 13, 2009: The Jesuit University of San Francisco. From "A Shepherd's Voice" (excerpt): USF Continues to Honor Same-Sex "Marriage" Advocates On November 13 the Jesuit University of San Francisco’s School of Law will hold it’s Sixth Annual Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) Gala. This year’s honoree will be California Supreme Court Associate Justice Carlos Moreno. Justice Moreno’s major claim to fame, and the reason USF is honoring him, is that he was the sole California justice who voted to overturn the will of the people in the Proposition 8 case. Since it’s inception in 2004, USF’s Law School has made a nearly annual practice of honoring activists who support the homosexual agenda. The first PILF Gala took place in 2004, and the first honoree was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. At the time USF chose to honor him, Newsom had been in office barely 10 months. His sole notable “accomplishment” consisted in directing the County Clerk of the City and County of San Francisco begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples--an action declared illegal four months later by the California Supreme Court. • In 2005, USF Law School chose to honor Ms. Maria Blanco. On March 14, 2007, Ms. Blanco, writing for the California Coalition for Civil Rights, sent a letter to Ms. Alice Kessler of Equality California, stating: "The California Coalition for Civil Rights strongly supports AB43 (which would have leaglized same-sex "marriage" in California) and we look forward to the legislature and the governor providing equality for all Californians." On January 24, 2006, Ms. Blanco was signatory to a letter to Senator Diane Feinstein, urging her to oppose the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito. Among other things the letter said “As a Supreme Court Justice, Judge Alito would undermine reproductive rights and is likely to vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.” • In 2006, USF chose to honor Ms. Kate Kendall, the Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. From the NCLR website: “NCLR was lead counsel on behalf of same-sex couples, Equality California, and Our Family Coalition in the California marriage case, which sought to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage in California.” • In 2007, USF chose to honor Ms. Elizabeth Cabraser, of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. Ms. Cabraser was the lead attorney for an amici curaie brief filed on behalf of 40 legal institutions with the California Supreme Court. The brief recommended the Supreme Court overturn Proposition 8. Ms. Cabraser also donated $30,000 to the “No on Proposition 8” campaign. • In 2008, USF chose to honor Shannon Price Minter, Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and SF Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart. The USF website said they were honoring the two because “…Minter and Stewart successfully argued before the California Supreme Court this year that same-sex couples have the right to marry. "A Shepherd's Voice" covered the event. • Now, in 2009, USF will honor Judge Moreno--the sole California justice who voted to invalidate the votes a majority of Californians by overturning Proposition 8. October 13, 2009 (Archdiocesan High Schools): The California Catholic Daily reports: "Four Catholic High Schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are scheduled to host a performance of the condom-endorsing sex-education play Secrets. The play was written by openly lesbian playwright Patricia Loughrey. Secrets will be performed on October 14, 2009 at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School in San Francisco; on November 5, 2009 at Sacred Heart High School in Atherton; on January 19, 2010 at Mercy High School in Burlingame, and on February 9, 2010 at St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School in San Francisco. The play depicts a teenager who is HIV positive. Some content in Secrets was considered, by the Fremont, California Unified School District, to be sufficiently graphic to require that a permission slip be signed by parents before their child would be allowed to see it. The Fremont Unified School District also posts an online flyer (in English and Chinese) for parents, informing them of the performance, and inviting them to watch a video of Secrets before giving their permission. The flyer also describes two of the scenes: “A character dumps dozens of brightly wrapped condoms on the floor with a discussion about which type of condoms are the best to use and how to use them effectively.” Another scene is a “Discussion about contraceptives and a visual display of them.” The production of Secrets in the San Francisco Archdiocese is sponsored by the Educational Theater Programs division of the Kaiser Permanente HMO. Secrets author Patricia Loughrey is currently the coordinator of the play reading series Queer Theatre – Taking Center Stage at San Diego’s Diversionary Theatre, which bills itself as “the nations third-oldest LGBT theater.” Ms. Loughrey is author of The Daddy Machine, a play about children with two lesbian mothers, and most recently, Dear Harvey, a celebration of the life of the openly homosexual San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. Dear Harvey was first performed at San Diego State University. San Diego News Online reported: “The piece, about Harvey Milk, was commissioned by Diversionary as its own tribute to the civil rights activist, and it was conceived long before the film, Milk, was released. The small-cast production made for compelling theater, and the piece is now making the rounds in various locales. There’s even talk of touring the SDSU production to local high schools….The play is a remembrance and a touching tribute, based on Loughrey’s interviews with people who knew Harvey, from activists to politicians.” Oddly, the entry for Secrets on the Sacred Heart High of Atherton’s online calendar is found under the heading Sophomore Class Liturgy. At San Francisco’s St. Ignatius High School, Secrets is intended to be an annual event. From the school’s May 2009 Health & Wellness webpage: “The freshmen class also witnessed an award winning health education program sponsored by Kaiser Permanente called Secrets. Secrets is a live theatre production which educates youth on the topic of HIV and AIDS. This production was viewed by the entire Student Body two years ago and each year the freshmen will have the opportunity to see it in order to be up to speed with the rest of the school.” While the content of Secrets may be acceptable to some San Francisco Catholic high schools, Fremont is not the only public school district to harbor reservations. In 1994, officials of the Glendale, California public school district cancelled a performance of Secrets because the play conflicted with the district’s policy of promoting abstinence. In addition to requiring a permission slip, the Fremont Public School District offers parents the option of having their child either view an abstinence-promoting video called Sex Appeal, or the option of not viewing either program." One of these schools, Sacred Heart of Atherton, presented a play called "Be Still and Know" that was scheduled to be performed at Most Holy Redeemer Church on March 8, 2009 (see March 8 entry, below). But when he found out about it, His Excellency Archbishop Niederauer caused the play to be cancelled. That did not stop the homosexual activists--they had the play performed at (where else?) USF. This was done without His Excellency's knowledge. We will continue to follow the "Secrets" story. August 26, 2009 (Catholic Charities CYO): On August 26, the California Catholic Daily reported: "Publicity generated by California Catholic Daily’s story of August 11 “Adoptive Dads Sought on S/M Webpage” has caused the city of San Francisco to pull the AdoptionSF ads from San Francisco’s Bay Area Reporter and the SF Bay Times. The CalCatholic story reported that AdoptionSF, which is a collaboration between the city of San Francisco’s Human Services Agency and Family Builders by Adoption (who, until June 30, 2009, had been Catholic Charities adoptions’ partner) were running adoption ads featuring two adoptive men and a little boy on the “Mister Marcus” s/m page of the Bay Area Reporter. Subsequent to the original story, California Catholic Daily learned that similar AdoptionSF ads were also running on the “porn” page of the SF Bay Times, another homosexually-oriented publication. The ad on the SF Bay Times “porn” page showed two women and a teenaged girl. The article’s author (disclosure--we authored both the August 11 & August 26 stories) sent a letter to the Human Services Agency asking if they were aware of these ads, and on August 24 received a response from Mr. Trent Rohrer, executive director of the agency. Mr. Rohrer said, in part: 'We work in collaboration with Family Builders to recruit adoptive homes for foster youth, However, we were not aware nor would we ever authorize the use of these ads for any type of inappropriate websites and publications. Efforts have been made to contact a representative from Family Builders. We are in the process of resolving this matter and plan to pull the ads immediately. I am certain that the postings in the specific sites you mentioned must have occurred as the result of some type of error.'” We are not sure we can agree with Mr. Rohrer that the ads were "the result of some type of error." Those who have followed our coverage of the Catholic Charities/Family Builders partnership will remember that the Family Builders/Catholic Charities contract with the city of San Francisco's Human Services Agencies specified "Increasing the number of children adopted by Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) adults." Since the Bay Area Reporter and the San Francisco Bay Times are the two largest LGBT-oriented publications in the city, they would seem to be natural ways to reach that target demographic. But it is noteworthy that even the city of San Francisco is distancing itself from Family Builders. We remind readers that in an August 2, 2006 Catholic Charities press release announcing the CCCYO/Family Builders partnership, the then-Executive Director of CCCYO, Brian Cahill, said: "It is a privilege to be working with Jill Jacobs and the Family Builders team." August 11, 2009 (Catholic Charities CYO): Family Builders by Adoption, the (until June 30, 2009) adoptions partner of Catholic Charities of San Francisco has been caught advertising for adoptive "parents" on the s/m page of the homosexually-oriented Bay Area Reporter and on the "porn" page of the San Francisco Bay Times. From the California Catholic Daily Article exposing the ads: "Adoptive Dads Sought on S/M Webpage SF City-Funded Adoption Agency Advertises with “Mister Marcus” AdoptionSF.org, a joint project of the City of San Francisco’s Human Services Agency and Family Builders by Adoption is advertising for adoptive parents on the “Mister Marcus” page of San Francisco’s Bay Area Reporter website. The Reporter’s front page motto is “Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community since 1971.” Mister Marcus” publishes a weekly column in the Reporter which covers and publicizes upcoming “leather” events. Examples include: “A weekend of bdsm activity and featuring NW Master and slave contest on Sat. night” (July 2, 2009) and “Hell Hole Fisting Party tonight upstairs at Mister S playroom from 2000 to 0200 next morning” (April 16, 2009).... According to the Catholic San Francisco newspaper, from 2006-2009 Family Builders received $110,000 annually from Catholic Charities. When the partnership was announced, it set off a firestorm of protest among Catholics, although Catholic Charities’ then-executive director Brian Cahill referred to it as a “great opportunity.” On October 17, 2008, the Catholic San Francisco newspaper announced that the partnership was being dissolved. At that time Mr. Cahill said: “We regret that a small group of activists, in order to further their own agenda, continue to distort and discredit our efforts on behalf of these neglected children. The welfare of children has been a paramount concern of Catholic Charities… for the past 100 years.” As one of the "activists" Mr. Cahill mentions, we wonder if he has had any second thoughts about partenering with an organization that advertises for adoptive parents on s/m & porn web pages. The partnership between Family Builders and CCCYO, ended in June 2009, although the CCCYO Adoptions page continued to link to Family Builders right through the time the advertisements in the two publications appeared. Following the August 11, CCD story, the CCCYO page with the link was pulled. July 2-5, 2009 (Most Holy Redeemer, [Jesuit] University of San Francisco): The 40th DignityUSA Convention begins, held in San Francisco, begins. A blurb for the convention was included in MHR's June 21, 2009 parish bulletin. A keynote speaker is Richard Rodriguez, parishioner of MHR. The convention features a workshop called: “Leather Spirituality as an Ingredient of Christian Life.” It also includes a liturgy sponsored by "The Defenders" a "leather" (s/m) group who have been nearly annual guests, as part of the "Inter-Club Fund" at MHR's Ellard Hall over the past decade. See here. From the Defenders/SF website: “Defenders/SF is a Leather/Levi club, chartered by Dignity, the national gay Catholic organization. Defenders take a stand for the sacredness of our leather sexuality and explores practical ways of integrating sexuality and spirituality." and: "What we notice about our sexual experience as leather people is that much of what turns us on sexually has to do with such things as power exchange (dominance/submission)”. There will also be a "Leather Caucus" held at the convention on Sunday, July 5. Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ, Executive Director of Campus Ministry at USF will also present a workshop called "Gays and Grays: Parish-Based Pastoral Care for GLBT People." June 18, 2009 (Most Holy Redeemer): The "Bay Area Reporter" runs a story an article about the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade's 2009 "Pink Brick" awards. The "Pink Brick" is an "award" bestowed annually by San Francisco's LGBT Pride Celebration Committee. They give it to people they don't like. This year the committee awarded two "Pink Brick's": one to ex "Miss California USA" Carrie Prejean for voicing her support of natural marriage, and one to our Archbishop George Niederauer, for his defense of natural marriage and the family. From the article: "The membership and board of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee voted at their June meeting to award a second Pink Brick, this time to Catholic San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer." It's no surprise that His Excellency's work in defense of natural marriage and the family would earn the wrath of the homosexual activists. It's more newsworthy that the homosexual activist leading the charge should be a member of a Catholic church's pastoral council. More from the article: "In a May 28 Guest Opinion column for the Bay Area Reporter, Matt Dorsey, a gay man who's on the parish council of San Francisco's Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, argued that the Pink Brick should have gone to Niederauer, rather than Prejean. In his column, Dorsey wrote that the San Francisco Archdiocese had produced and distributed campaign fliers to local parishes and schools, acknowledged as having been "Paid for by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco," misleading people that supporting Prop 8 would secure parental rights to teach children about marriage. Dorsey also noted that Niederauer had voiced opposition to same-sex marriage in a video that appeared on the Web site http://www.marriagematterstokids.org/ . Dorsey told the B.A.R. this week that he was grateful for the decision to award the Pink Brick to Niederauer 'and for being open to community feedback.'" Mr. Dorsey is the communications director for San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera. His bio on the Most Holy Redeemer Pastoral Council page can be found here. His May 28 guest column "Niederauer Deserves Pink Brick" in the Bay Area Reporter can be found here. Mr. Dorsey's action is not suprising for a member of the MHR Pastoral Council. He is quite representative of the council. As we have documented, five current and past members of MHR's Pastoral Council donated to the "No on Proposition 8" campaign--at the exact time when all the Catholic Bishops in California asked Catholics to vote for, volunteer for, and contribute financially to its passing. May 23, 2009: The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco: USF holds its 2009 Commencement Ceremonies. The Commencement speaker for the Graduate Students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Masagung Graduate School of Management is San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris. Harris is introduced by the Dean of USF Law School Jeffrey S. Brand. According to Dean Brand: "She represents the best of what this great University is all about."      Photo courtesy Bill Wilson, Bay Area Reporter.   Photo courtesy Rick Gerharter, Bay Area Reporter. Unfortunately, as the photos above show, Dean Brand's statement contains truth: she does represent the University--or at least the University as the Dean sees it. Here he is at the November 7, 2008 USF Law School Fundraiser, presenting awards to Shannon Minter and Therese Stewart, the attorneys who won the California case for same-sex "marriage" (see story below):     Photo courtesy Stephen Hew, USF.   Photo courtesy Stephen Hew, USF.  "Nov. 14, 2008 -- On Nov. 7, the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) Fifth Annual Gala Auction and Award Ceremony raised money for students to intern in the public sector, while honoring the work of Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Therese Stewart, San Francisco's chief deputy city attorney. Minter and Stewart successfully argued before the California Supreme Court this year that same-sex couples have the right to marry.... "The evening's highlight was the award ceremony for Minter and Stewart, who Dean Jeffrey Brand and PILF Co-Chairs Jeff Kaloustian 3L and Freeman exalted as people that make a difference." Nor was this the first time USF's Law School has honored Therese Stewart precisely because of her attack on natural marriage. On September 28, 200she was the keynote speaker at "Progressive Lawyering Day." From the USF Law School website: "Progressive Lawyering Day to Feature Attorney Who Argued Same-Sex Marriage Case San Francisco Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart, who successfully argued before the California Supreme Court for the legalization of same-sex marriage, will give the keynote address. 'Therese Stewart was chosen because she played an important role in winning the right for gay and lesbian couples to marry in California, and because she is someone who stepped out of private practice to donate her talents to the civil service without giving up any of her tenacity,' said Andrew Younkins 3L." April 1, 2009 The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. This event happened on November 7, 2008, but we just found out about it: On November 7, 2008, three days after the passage of Proposition 8, the USF Law School actually honored those who directly and actively sought the destruction of marriage. This story is from the website of USF"s Law School: "USF Fundraising Event Honors Work of LGBT Rights Advocates" Nov. 14, 2008 -- On Nov. 7, the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) Fifth Annual Gala Auction and Award Ceremony raised money for students to intern in the public sector, while honoring the work of Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Therese Stewart, San Francisco's chief deputy city attorney. Minter and Stewart successfully argued before the California Supreme Court this year that same-sex couples have the right to marry. Note the date of the event: November 7, three days after the election. The preparations must have been going on for at least a couple of months--at the very time our Bishops had asked Catholics to volunteer for, contribute financially to, and vote for Proposition 8. The story continues: "The evening's highlight was the award ceremony for Minter and Stewart, who Dean Jeffrey Brand and PILF Co-Chairs Jeff Kaloustian 3L and Freeman exalted as people that make a difference." Photos of the event can be found here. March 31, 2009: The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco: This week's Catholic San Francisco newspaper included this item in the "Lenten Opportunities" section: "Following in the Footsteps of St. Paul, A Tuesdays of Lent series at St. Rita Church, 100 Marinda Dr. in Fairfax. Soup supper at 6:15 p.m. precedes 7 p.m. . . . March 31: Pauline Christology in New Testament hymns with Vincent Pizzuto, Ph. D." (Emphasis added) Reverend Pizzuto is Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. Neither his biographical page, nor his CV page on the USF website mention that in 2007 the Reverend Pizzuto was ordained by Bishop Joseph Grenier, an ex-Catholic priest, into the "Celtic Christian Church." This is also not mentioned in the notice that was printed in Catholic San Francisco. That the Reverend Pizzuto was moving away from, or had already moved away from the Catholic Church was indicated in a statement he made at the "Is It Ethical to be Catholic?: Queer Perspectives" seminar held on February 12, 2006 at Most Holy Redeemer Church: "Similar questions of ethics have also driven faithful Catholics beyond the confines of the Roman church where they might more faithfully live out their catholic faith elsewhere. And I count myself among them." (Emphasis added) Reverend Pizzuto confirmed his alienation from the Church's teaching on sexuality in another statement he made on March 26, 2006 at the "Alienated Catholics" seminar, hosted at the (Jesuit) St. Agnes Church in San Francisco: Thus, despite coming up against Magisterial teachings to the contrary, the alienation which homosexual catholics experience is not rooted in that which they believe to be intrinsic to Christian tradition itself, but rather, is associated with an erroneous interpretation of tradition imposed by the teaching authorities of the church. To put it plainly, we simply disagree with the church's interpretation of Scripture and Tradition which we otherwise experience as affirming." (Emphasis added) On December 2008, Reverend Pizzuto published an essay entitled: "God has made it plain to them: an indictment of Rome's hermeneutic of homophobia." In the essay, Reverend Pizzuto claims to have identified: "An identifiable and systemic homophobia pervasive throughout the Roman Catholic hierarchy." Reverend Pizzuto continues to teach theology at the University of San Francisco. March 20, 2009: (Most Holy Redeemer, The Jesuit University of San Francisco, Sacred Heart High of Atherton): Nick Street, the "LGBT Editor" of a website called "Religion Dispatches" writes an informative article about the production of "Be Still and Know" at Sacred Heart High School of Atherton, its cancellation at Most Holy Redeemer Church, and iys presentation at USF. Mr. Street interviewed the director and adaptor of the play, Sacred Heart drama teacher John Loschmann. He also interviewed Alex Sanchez, the homosexual activist author of the book "The God Box," from which "Be Still and Know" was adapted. Mr. Street's article informs us that Mr. Sanchez had visited Sacred Heart before: "Loschmann, who taught at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco for 15 years before he arrived at Sacred Heart in 2001, was inspired to adapt The God Box for the stage after Sanchez visited the school a year and a half ago." From the interview: Mr. Street: "Your visit to Sacred Heart Preparatory School was the catalyst for John Loschmann’s adapting your book for the stage. What was your impression of the school? How was your visit?" Mr. Sanchez: "Overall my visit was awesome. The students were engaged, intelligent, and articulate. One thing I do when I visit schools is ask for a show of hands: How many of you know somebody who is gay or lesbian? Typically, 90 to 99 percent of students raise their hands. Sacred Heart was no exception." We now learn than in addition to having a play based on his work produced at the school, he also met with the students about a year and a half ago. March 9, 2009 (The Jesuit University of San Francisco): USF’s Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought presents a seminar by Professor James Nickoloff: “'Intrinsically Disordered': The Role of the Despised in Establishing the Holiness of the Church. A community conversation exploring gay marriage and Catholic identity in light of Proposition 8. Sponsored with the USF LGBTQ Caucus.” Who is James Nickoloff? He’s an Emeritus Professor at Holy Cross University and a Bannan Fellow at Santa Clara University. He was in the news this past November when Holy Cross held a “Rainbow Alliance Week.” The Cardinal Newman Society of Holy Cross covered “Rainbow Alliance Week.” Among other things, the event included a series of panel discussions. According to the Cardinal Newman Society’s website, one of the panels was: "Tuesday, November 6th: ABiGaLe panel at 7:30 pm in Hogan Suite A. The panel is on homosexuality and the Bible, featuring Prof. Nickoloff who is a former Jesuit, openly homosexual and married to his homosexual partner in Massachusetts…” The Society’s page further says: “Prof. James Nickoloff, of the Religious Studies department, is a former Jesuit priest who told a student group in November that he was personally engaged in homosexuality and 'married' in the state of Massachusetts to another man.” We were unable to find independent confirmation that Nickoloff is same-sex “married” in the state of Massachusetts. But it would not be totally improbable, because we did learn: • On May 14, 2004, Nickoloff was signatory to a document by a group of Catholics addressing the court imposition of same-sex marriage on the people of Massachusetts. Although ambiguously worded, given the context the document can only be read as an endorsement of same-sex “marriage.” • In September, 2006, Nickoloff led a Focus Group (PDF) at the 13th Annual Conference of the National Association of Diocesan Gay and Lesbian Ministries in Brooklyn, NY; • On April 11, 2007, Nickoloff was a signatory to the “Fortunate Families” letter to the United States Catholic Bishops. You can find out about “Fortunate Families” by going here. It will be interesting to see if any USF priests stand up for Church teaching in this "community conversation." March 8, 2009: (Most Holy Redeemer): On March 2, 2009 the California Catholic Daily reports: "Student actors from Sacred Heart Preparatory School in Atherton will perform a play based on the controversial book The God Box at Most Holy Redeemer parish in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon, March 8. The play, according to the March 1 parish bulletin of Most Holy Redeemer, “explores the subject of homosexuality within a Christian, adolescent context.” The play "Be Still and Know" is based on the book "The God Box" by Alex Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez is a homosexual activist writer. His website may be found here. His "Sprituality" webpage may be found here. The director of the play, John Loschmann, is a drama teacher at Sacred Heart High School of Atherton. Mr. Loschmann is a signatory to the “Represent Me” list on the Equality California website--a list of people who want Proposition 8 overturned. Mr. Loschmann also gave $100 to the "No on Proposition 8 campaign." The Principal of Sacred Heart High School of Atherton is a man named James Everitt. He gave $200 to the "No on Proposition 8" campaign. A "James Everitt" is also listed as a Lector on the Most Holy Redeemer webpage. At first glance it seemed odd that MHR would host a play trageted at adolescents, since it is virtually a child-free parish. But if Mr. Everitt works at Sacred Heart and is a lector at MHR, that would explain it. UPDATE: His Excellency George Niederauer, Archbishop of San Francisco, refused to allow the play to be performed at Most Holy Redeemer. The play was performed On Sunday, March 8, at 2:00 PM, at the Presentation Theater of the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco. When made aware of this, Archdiocesan Spokesman Maurice Healy responded: "I had not heard this. The Archbishop, I am sure, was not aware of this. He presently is in Rome at a communication seminar." February 25, 2009 (Most Holy Redeemer): From the Most Holy Redeemer Parish Bulletin of February 8, 2009: "Rev. Glenda Hope will be our speaker on Feb. 25" The Rev. Glenda Hope is a Presbyterian Minister here in San Francisco. According to the Bay Area Reporter's "Wedding Announcements" page, she celebrated the "marriage" of two men on August 30, 2008. According to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, she also filed a Friend of the Court Briefing, supporting the overturn of Proposition 8. For more example of "Ecumenism MHR style," go here. February 22, 2009 (The Jesuit University of San Francisco): Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM hosts a seminar called "Contemplation (and Action) in the 21st Century" Fr. Rohr has a number of affiliations with homosexual activists. • On October 8, 2000, Fr. Rohr sent a letter to "Soulforce," commending them for their opposition to Church teaching: "At last we have a group of dedicated Christians who are willing to use disciplined and Christian means of nonviolent protest against its church's failure to live the Gospel. Christians outside the mainstream did this in the abolitionist movement against slavery, in the civil rights movement against racism, and in the antiwar movement. Eventually, in each case, the church, like Peter running late to the tomb, acknowledged that these were indeed Gospel positions. SOULFORCE must take the role of John the Beloved, who runs swiftly to the tomb, because that is what love always does. But both of us will find there the Risen Christ who always reigns and transforms human history, but never without our "let it be." Our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered brothers and sisters have been left outside of his realm of grace for far too long. We can do so much better, and we will. I thank SOULFORCE for its courage, dedication, and proclamation of Christian nonviolence in the pursuit of justice and truth. Yours in Christ Jesus, Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M." Just who or what is "Soulforce?" They are a group of homosexual activists committed to changing Church teaching on the homosexuality. And less than a month after Fr. Rohr sent the above letter, Soulforce (teaming up with "Diginity USA") issued this press release attacking Catholic teaching, and publicizing a direct action in front of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. That press release cited Fr. Rohr's letter of support. Further, on September 11-13, 2009, Fr. Rohr will be the Facilitator of a "retreat for former male religious and resigned priests who are gay" to be held in Marriotsville, Maryland. The event is listed on the "Gay Catholic Forum," a site which also feature homilies by USF's Executive Director of University Ministry, Fr. Donal Godfrey.) The retreat is being sponsored by New Ways Ministry. From their "Next Steps: Developing Lesbian/Gay Ministry" action plan: "This weekend of prayer, presentations, dialogue, and planning is designed to assist those seeking ways to include lesbian/gay people and issues in their home parishes, schools, or other ministerial settings." Emphasis added. December 18, 2008 (Most Holy Redeemer): The December 19 issue (PDF, page 20)of Catholic San Francisco publishes the following letter to the editor: Salt in wounds Archbishop Niederauer’s recent “open letter” did nothing but rub salt in the wounds for at least two members of his flock. My husband and I do not think we are alone. We support his constitutional right to speak out on a political issue. We agree with his duty to teach his flock. We strongly disagree with the premise that Prop 8 was not meant to attack or deprive any group of its civil rights. If the members of the coalition the Archbishop helped form had reputations as sanctuaries for individuals who have endured grade school games of “smear the queer” and communities whose members have worn pink triangles and been bashed like Matthew Shepard, we might be wrong. If these same churches had spent millions of dollars in the past to protect our jobs, homes and hospital visits, or had publicly supported domestic partnerships, we might be wrong. We agree that name-calling must stop now. Voicing our disappointment and hurt does not prevent our focusing attention on the reality that the hungry need food, the homeless need shelter and the unemployed need jobs. We strongly disagree that as domestic partners we can expect the same rights and treatment when we visit married family members out of state as they can when they come to California. We strongly believe the 14 words of Prop 8 do nothing to safeguard even one straight couple’s marriage. It feels that for now, the Church in San Francisco is more comfortable imitating the Prodigal Son’s brother than in being his father. Michael Vargas Martin Bednarek San Francisco According to MHR's "Lectors" page, Mr. Vargas is a lector at the Church. According to the September 9, 2007 church bulletin, Mr. Bednarek was serving at that time in the music ministry. By our count this makes seven persons serving in liturgical ministries at MHR who have "married" persons of the same sex. December 13, 2008 (The (Jesuit) University of San Francisco): In an article in Catholic San Francisco, Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ, Executive Director of University Ministry at USF, had this comment: "Jesuit Father Donal Godfrey, executive director of University Ministry at the University of San Francisco, said that while he 'personally opposed Prop 8 which is a matter of conscience,' he "did not feel that this was the right occasion for a speech such as this." Emphasis added. In case anyone has forgotten, here is the text of Proposition 8: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Here we have the Executive Director of University Ministry at USF, charged with the spiritual welfare of Catholic students on a Catholic campus, defending "as a matter of conscience" (whatever that means) dissenting from the teaching of the entire Magisterium of the Church on what the Holy Father has called a non-negotiable issue. To learn more about Fr. Godfrey, go here. December 4, 2008 (Most Holy Redeemer): From today's "Wedding Announcements" page in the Bay Area Reporter (motto:"Serving the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community since 1971"). "This week's wedding announcements include Ralph Lindsey and Philip Carrizosa... Ralph K. Lindsey Jr. and G. Philip R. Carrizosa were married Saturday, November 1, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. at Terra Gallery on Rincon Hill overlooking downtown San Francisco. More than 75 friends and relatives attended the ceremony, which was officiated by retired Court of Appeal Justice Joanne Parrilli." The story ends with: "The ceremony was a mixture of civil and religious elements, reflecting the couple's deep faith. Mr. Lindsey is an active member of Glide Memorial Methodist Church while Mr. Carrizosa is an acolyte and lector at Most Holy Redeemer Parish." According to MHR's "Lectors" and "Acolytes" webpages, Mr. Carrizosa does indeed serve in those ministries. By our count that makes five persons serving in liturgical functions at MHR who have "married" persons of the same sex. It will be good here to remind ourselves of Church rules. From "Redemptionis Sacramentum" #46 "The lay Christian faithful called to give assistance at liturgical celebrations should be well instructed and must be those whose Christian life, morals and fidelity to the Church’s Magisterium recommend them." A photograph of Mr. Carrizosa and Mr. Lindsay in the nave of Most Holy Redeemer Church can be found here.   Monday, December 1, 2008 (Catholic Charities CYO): Catholic Charities of San Francisco held a farewell reception for its outgoing Executive Director Brian Cahill. We remind the reader that under Mr. Cahill’s leadership, Catholic Charities, among other things: • Formed the disastrous partnership with “Family Builders by Adoption,” which saw Catholic Charities staff an organization whose mission included "Increasing the number of children adopted by Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) adults." Thankfully, the partnership will be dissolved next year. • Invited male transvestite, same-sex “marriage” activist, and Equality California Institute board member “Donna Sachet” to be a featured entertainer at one of their parties; • Honored Mr. George Marcus at their 2008 “Loaves and Fishes” dinner, ignoring the fact that Mr. Marcus had given over $175,000 to political campaigns in California promoting the culture of death, and which were unwaveringly opposed by the Catholic Church; • In between time, Mr. Cahill found time to personally donate $600 to "Equality for All" and “Equality California --No on Proposition 8.” Honorary Committee members for the event include: • San Francisco Supervisors Tom Ammiano, Ross Mirkarimi, and Gerald Sandoval, all of whom voted for Resolution 168-06 on March 21, 2006, which called the Catholic Church “hateful” and “discriminatory” for daring to say that a child should be raised in a home with a mother and a father; • Senator Dianne Feinstein, who made a television ad supporting same-sex marriage, and who has throughout her career garnered a 100% pro-death rating from NARAL; • Dr. Sandra Hernandez, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, who personally donated $1,000 to the Campaign opposing Proposition 8, and whose webpage states “The San Francisco Foundation endorsed a No on 8 position and in the coming weeks and months we will be tracking closely the next steps to continue the strategy for justice.” • Dennis Herrera, City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, who is currently suing the State of California to outlaw the definition of marriage and the will of the voters by invalidating Proposition 8; • Jim Illig, Director of Government Relations for “Project Open Hand,” who gave $300 to oppose Proposition 8; • Father Anthony McGuire, former pastor of Most Holy Redeemer parish, of whom an admiring Fr. Donal Godfrey wrote: "Under Father Anthony McGuire—‘Fr. Tony—the parish was reborn…” The “reborn” Most Holy Redeemer Church now has “married” lesbians serving as lectors, acolytes, and Eucharistic Ministers, and a Liturgy Planning Group Coordinator who participates at events that are pictured on a website requiring an obscenity disclaimer. • San Francisco City Assessor Phil Ting, who in June, 2008 officiated at at least one same-sex “wedding.” From Sing Tao Daily: “Phil Ting spoke after the ceremony and said that he is very glad to marry gay and lesbian couples and very happy to see the day that the California government will allow their gay and lesbian couples the freedom to marry.” November 25, 2008 (Most Holy Redeemer): On November 25, Salon did an interview with Richard Rodriguez "Why Churches Fear Gay Marriage." Mr. Rodriguez is a well known TV commentator, and a parishioner at MHR. His interview once more undercores our point. He completely rejects the Church when it is in conflict with his own sexual desires: "I belong to a Catholic parish in San Francisco (Most Holy Redeemer), where my partner and I are acknowledged by the other people in the parish as a couple. We take communion together, the priests know who we are, they're supportive of who we are, and what we are, and they see us in various roles -- giving eulogies to dead friends but also helping to baptize little babies. We're very much a part of that community. That's why I'm not prepared to lose it because some archbishop in Colorado or cardinal in Los Angeles is behind Proposition 8. It is not my church that they're talking about, it's not even my experience of love." Emphasis added. We repeat: at Most Holy Redeemer the genuine organizing principle is not Catholicism, but the celebration of homosexuality. When the celebration of homosexuality conflicts with the teachings of the Catholic Church, the teachings of the Church are abandoned. October 18, 2008 (Most Holy Redeemer): The San Francisco Chronicle printed a column today by C. W. Nevius titled: "S.F. Catholic church walks fine line on Prop. 8" The column describes MHR's objections to the Church's defense of natural marriage, and opens with the unintentionally hilarious line: "It seemed San Francisco's Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church had found the perfect balance between the teachings of the church and gay and lesbian parishioners - at least until Proposition 8 the state initiative to ban same-sex marriage, made the ballot." We have pointed out before that Most Holy Redeemer Church is the only Catholic Church in history that has photos of parish events posted on a website that requires an obscenity disclaimer. For an example of the "balance" Mr. Nevius describes, go to our Most Holy Redeemer page and follow the links, particularly to "Ellard Hall Events" or to the "Staff Members" page (particularly "Lay Staff") or to the infamous video of "Revival Bingo." Mr. Nevius' column also quotes two MHR Pastoral Council Members (past & current) Matt Dorsey and Patrick Mulcahey. We've documented both men on the "Lay Staff" page. "It is really out of right field," said Matt Dorsey, a member of the Holy Redeemer Parish Council. "I would expect this from Karl Rove, but not from the spiritual leader of (several hundred thousand) Catholics." Mr. Dorsey is Press Secretary for Dennis Herrera, City Attorney of San Francisco. It was Mr. Herrera who sued the State of California over same-sex "marriage." Of course Fr. Donal Godfrey makes an appearance: "In a perfect world, Niederauer would stand up to the church to say that he knows many gay and lesbian married couples and that their unions do not threaten anyone. But the reality is that church leaders get their marching orders from what Mulcahey calls "a fax machine in the Vatican," andtaking a stand against the hierarchy is a no-win situation. And, sure enough, a call to the archbishop's office produced no answers. A spokeswoman, who insisted that she not be quoted, said that the man who was authorized to speak to the media would be out of the office until Oct. 29, and that no one else could comment. A message left on thearchbishop's voice mail was not returned. You can hardly blame them for their caution, said Godfrey, who is the executive director of university ministry at the University of San Francisco. "The bishops must feel pressure to go along," he said. 'There aren't that many going around campaigning for (Prop. 8). I think they signed off on (the e-mail) and hoped it ends soon.'" I look forward to His Excellency's response to columnists & Jesuits putting words in his mouth. But had Mr. Nevius done a little homework, he could have found an extended treatment of the issue by Archbishop Niederauer by going here: http://www.marriagematterstokids.org/niederauer.html October 17, 2008 (Catholic Charities CYO) VICTORY! Today's "Catholic San Francisco" has an article confirming the dissolution of the regrettable partnership between Catholic Charities CYO and Family Builders by Adoption. The article is an official Archdiocesan confirmation of an article published in the October 12 issue of "Our Sunday Visitor" by Valerie Schmalz. The CCCYO/FBA partnership was one of the motivating factors in the construction of this website, and we are happy about any part we may have played in the ending of this disastrous affair. Our thoughts: This week's "Catholic San Francisco" printed an article confirming the dissolution of the relationship between Catholic Charities CYO and Family Builders by Adoption/Adoption SF ("the gayest agency in the country") in the words of their Executive Director, Jill Jacobs. While the dissolution is itself good news, the article is confused and confusing, and begs at least two questions: 1) The article asserts that only a three-year partnership with FBA was ever envisaged: "CCCYO officials told Catholic San Francisco that, as planned, the agency’s placing of two full-time employees at California Kids Connection will end in June 2009. 'The action is completely consistent with our 2006 announcement on adoption. At that time, we said that our plan was for a three-year partnership with California Kids Connection. That period concludes in June of 2009,' [CCCYO Executive Director Brian] Cahill stated." Where, when, and to whom was this said? The only CCCYO announcement mentioned in the entire article is the CCCYO Press Release of August 2, 2006 (to this day the only document on the CCCYO website addressing the issue) which gives no indication whatsoever that the partnership was temporary. And if that was the plan, why, in a Bay Area Reporter article published eight days later, on August 10, 2006, did Mr. Cahill himself say: "Partnering with Family Builders actually will allow Catholic Charities to help even more children than before, he [Mr. Cahill] emphasized. 'It's impossible not to use the word 'irony' in this situation. Out of what could have been a crisis came a great opportunity,' said Cahill. 'We actually are going to increase our role in adoptions...' And why, a little more than two weeks after that, in a San Francisco Chronicle article published on August 27, 2006, did Mr. Cahill himself say: "This place started with adoptions -- how could we ever consider not doing them?'' And why did the body of that article open with: "In an adroit end-run against a Vatican ban on granting adoptions to same-sex couples, Catholic Charities of San Francisco will launch a new project in coming weeks that experts say will lead to the placement of hundreds of foster children around the state every year." (All emphases above are added.) None of that sound to me like the arrangement was seen as temporary. So, on October 17, 2008 Mr. Cahill says that in 2006 it was announced that only a three-year partnership was envisaged. But contradicting this: a) the August 2, 2006 CCCYO press release addressing the issue does not say or give even the slightest indication that the partnership was temporary; b) on August 10, 2006 Mr. Cahill said CCCYO was going to "increase its role in adoptions"; c) on August 27, 2006 Mr. Cahill said: "This place started with adoptions -- how could we ever consider not doing them?'' If, as he said last week, Mr. Cahill knew back in August of 2006 that only a three-year partnership with FBA was planned, why did he make the above statements to the press? For if what Mr. Cahill said last week was true, in August of 2006 CCCYO had not only considered not doing them, they had already decided not to do them--after a three-year period. Conversely, if what he said in the August, 2006 statements to the press were true, why did he say last week: "The action is completely consistent with our 2006 announcement on adoption. At that time, we said that our plan was for a three-year partnership with California Kids Connection." 2) The second strange contention in the article come from Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of Family Builders by Adoption and CCCYO officials: "According to Jacobs of Family Builders and CCCYO officials, the strategic goal of the expanded CKC outreach was to establish data that supported its effectiveness in placing foster care children in adoptive families, and, thereby, provide an economic incentive to the state to step in when CCCYO vacated." This is ridiculous. According to the Catholic San Francisco article, from 2006-2009 CCCYO was giving $110,000 annually to FBA. Over that same period, state & federal government was already giving over $1,100,000 annually to FBA--more than 10 times the contribution of CCCYO. They did not need to "step in" when CCCYO "vacated"--they were already in to the hilt. The contract specifying government funding to FBA can be found here. Why all the contradictions? I think the simplest explanation of what happened is this: Catholic Charities partnered with Family Builders by Adoption, "the gayest (adoption) agency in the country." From the moment the partnership was created, Catholics loyal to the teaching of the Church were outraged. It was a disaster. Catholic Charities is now pulling out, but trying to find a way to do so without admitting their mistake. September 7, 2008 (Most Holy Redeemer): From the Most Holy Redeemer Parish bulletin of September 7: "Since My Last Confession Federal prosecutor and writer Scott D. Pomfret takes on the Roman Catholic Church in his funny-but-faithful new book, Since My Last Confession: A Gay Catholic Memoir, at A Different Light bookstore, 489 Castro Street, San Franciso, at 7:30 pm on September 24. More information at www.sincemylastconfession.com."  Wonder what kind of book is being pushed in the MHR bulletin? Here's a taste, from Mr. Pomfret's webpage:   "During the fight to legalize gay marriage in Massachusetts, I set out on a Quixotic quest: to stalk Cardinal Sean O'Malley of the Archdiocese of Boston, with the vague idea that I might convert him from foe to friend if only he would agree to speak to me. Confession tells the story of the crazy Catholic kookery I found -- and whatever germs of wisdom and humor I derived from it... Meet some of the crazy characters I met along the way: the Franciscan friars who came to me for news about the local gay dance club; Jezebel, the uber-Catholic sister-in-law; Father Bear Daddy the gay priest with the hot gay.com account; Gram my Catholic-loathing 83-year-old grandmother-in-law; the inflatable "Super Colon" at the Saint Francis Street Fair; my fanatically atheistic boyfriend; and all the loose-boweled members of the gay-lesbian spirituality group who offered to teach me a thing or two about humiliation."   We repeat: at Most Holy Redeemer the genuine organizing principle is not Catholicism, but the celebration of homosexuality. When the celebration of homosexuality conflicts with the teachings of the Catholic Church, the teachings of the Church are abandoned. And because the proper ecclesiastical authorities in San Francisco continue to ignore the issue, Most Holy Redeemer has become a teaching center for this corruption. September 6, 2008: (The Jesuit) University of San Francisco: USF hosts "Call to Action" front conference? They call it the "Northern California Lay Convocation" but it sounds like a "Call to Action" front. • The organzing person is Lisa Striebing. She's who you register with and pay. • Lisa Striebing is a Call to Action Regional Contact. It's right there on CTA's Chapters & Regional Contacts" webpage: Northern California Lay Convocation Lisa Striebing (650) 697 6156 llstax@ix.netcom.com" • Ms. Striebing also gave the opening prayer at Call to Action of Northern California 2008 Conference. • One of the two "Expert Speakers" is Sr. Eloise Rosenblatt. Sister Rosenblatt was also a presenter at the 2005 West Coast Regional Call to Action Conference. And who's the requesting "client" for the usage of USF space for the conference? None other than the office of the President of the University. PDF's documenting the above can be found here. (1.6MB) Back in April 2007, St. Mary's Cathedral hosted the first "Northern California Lay Convocation." It was a Call to Action conference in all but name (a minimum of three members of the steering committee were CTA regional contacts; another member of the steering committee was a presenter at CTA's 2008 West Coast Conference; Sr. Rosenblatt was a featured speaker). The event went on, but maybe they learned a lesson and that's why this year's event is being held at USF. On November 4, 2006, Cardinal Re had this to say about "Call to Action": The Vatican has determined that “the activities of ‘Call to Action’ in the course of these years are in contrast with the Catholic Faith due to views and positions held which are unacceptable from a doctrinal and disciplinary standpoint,” Cardinal Re writes. He concludes: “Thus to be a member of this Association or to support it, is irreconcilable with a coherent living of the Catholic Faith.” "...to be a member of this Association or to support it, is irreconcilable with a coherent living of the Catholic Faith.” "Irreconcilabilty with a coherent living of the Catholic faith" is not a problem for USF. Visit our USF chronology page. August 20, 2006 (Catholic Charities CYO): California Catholic Daily has an article covering the Catholic Charities/Family Builders by Adoption /adoptionSF.org connection that we have covered in detail here. For original documentation of the issues covered in the CCD article, go here.   Below: Family Builders/AdoptionSF/CCCYO outreach: The Family Builders (staffed by CCCYO)/AdoptionSF float in the 2008 "Gay Pride" parade   August 20, 2008. Here's a letter from a reader: we received about two weeks ago. Hey, I'm a guy who stopped acting on my same-sex attraction when I came back to the Church last winter. Once I had enough humility to confess my sins, sexual and otherwise, and took communion, my life changed. Slowly but steadily it has changed. I don't know what would have happened if I had not been held to that standard, if I had not been asked to make choice between homosexuality and God. All the while I was on the fence I realized that I had made homosexuality my god. I can see that in most of the gay activists who I've chatted with since. You can see it on-line. Homosexuality is the one god they worship and protect. Anyone who says anything against their god will feel their wrath. So what's up with the SF diocese? I see that some "gay" sites are criticizing them, so are things changing? I'm loyal to the Church. I trust Pope Benedict XVI and the late John Paul II. Are any of their changes being felt out there? I looked at the the web site of the diocese and there's not one word about homosexuality and the gay things. That's surprising. I guess they're in conflict over what to do. M Thanks for your letter, M, and we agree with your analysis. As we have argued, at Most Holy Redeemer, for instance, the genuine organizing principle is not Catholicism, but the celebration of homosexuality. When the celebration of homosexuality conflicts with the teachings of the Catholic Church, the teachings of the Church are abandoned. Hence, it would seem, as you say, "homosexuality is the one god they worship and protect." M's letter also describes what this website is about. We say: our same-sex attracted brothers and sisters are just as important as anyone else. They need salvation like everybody else. They are owed the truth of Jesus Christ like everyone else. Therefore, the Archdiocese of San Francisco has an obligation to teach the truth on the issue of homosexuality. August 10, 2008: (Most Holy Redeemer; USF) The tolerance of homosexual activism by the Archdiocese of San Francisco and USF has serious consequence. The activists believe in what they are doing, and they work to spread their ideas. The following appeared at the bottom of page 2 in the Most Holy Redeemer bulletin of August 10, 2008: "Email from a Website Visitor 'Heard about your wonderful ministry through the ABC national radio program in Australia. Thank you for giving us a model to follow based on the Gospel values of Christ in God's Kingdom. Very inspirational. Keep up the fantastic work! Peter'" Now, why would a person in Australia be writing to Most Holy Redeemer in San Francisco? And why would they have heard about it on Australian ABC national radio? Coincidentally, about three weeks ago, Fr. Donal Godfrey, Executive Director of Campus Ministry at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco was in Sydney, Australia attending an "Acceptance" meeting timed to coincide with World Youth Day. "Acceptance" is sort of an Australian version of "Dignity." The meeting was covered by ABC radio. Fr. Godfrey was interviewed. At the very time the Holy Father was urging young people to follow Jesus Christ, Fr. Godfrey was urging them to be guided by their own disordered sexual impulses. We covered this in our post of July 18, 2008 (see below). And of course Fr. Godfrey's celebrates the corruption of Most Holy Redeemers in his book "Gays and Grays: the Story of the Gay Communty at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church." UPDATE: Turns out we were right about this. From the Most Holy Redeemer bulletin of August 17: "MHR on ABC National Radio of Australia Recently, while attending World Youth Day in Sydney, Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ was interviewed about MHR and our history on ABC National Radio of Australia. The letter from Peter in last week’s bulletin was a response to this program. If you would like to listen to this broadcast go to: www.abc.net.au/sundaynights/stories/s2312427.htm." To see what Fr. Godfrey is touting when he offers MHR as an exemplar, go here. July 24-28, 2008 (USF): California Catholic Daily reports that the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco hosted the North American Interfaith Network's "NAINConnect 2008 Conference." Conference attendees include witches (Wiccans) and people from something called the Urantia Fellowship, which teaches that Jesus Christ is one aspect of a being called "Michael of Salvington." Another workshop presenter is Episcopalian Bishop William Swing. It's not the first time USF has hosted Bishop Swing. They honored him at their December, 2005 commencement. According to one of his priests, the openly gay Reverend John Kirkely: "Bishop Swing has ordained more gay and lesbian clergy than probably any bishop in the history of Christendom..." July 18, 2008 (USF): Father Donal Godfrey, Excutive Director of University Ministry at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco visits World Youth Day in Australia. He is attending an "Acceptance" forum. "Acceptance" --"gay, lesbian, bisexual, & transgender Catholics"--is a sort of Australian version of "DignityUSA." The Acceptance folks were not allowed to attend the official World Youth Day events. ABCNews.au reported: "The organisers of the forum had tried to have the event included in the event's Youth Festival but were told it did not fit within church policies." Fr. Godfrey was also interviewed on the air. The first minute of this interview is quite enlightening. June 27, 2008 (University of San Francisco/Most Holy Redeemer): This is actually an item from March 9, 2008, but we just came across it yesterday. On March 9, 2008, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ, Executive Director of Campus Ministry at the (Jesuit) University of San Francisco, gave the homily at Most Holy Redeemer. The homily was titled "The Call to Come Out." The Gospel reading for the day was Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It appears Fr. Godfrey was using "Come Out" in a rather different sense....his homily begins: "Joshua Gamson, Professor of Sociology at the University of San Francisco, writes in his book, The Fabulous Sylvester, that by 1975 San Francisco was to gay men and lesbians what Israel was to Jews, only with fewer wars and more parties. San Francisco was where you went to come out and be gay..." You can read Fr. Godfrey's full homily at "Gay Catholic Forum." And here's another of Fr. Godfrey's homilies. It's also posted on "Gay Catholic Forum." This one was also given at Most Holy Redemeer, on October 8, 2006,--and is entitled "Finding God in the Erotic." Everything for Godfrey seems to revolve around homosexuality--but that is exactly the argument we have been making about the parish identity at Most Holy Redeemer. "Gay Catholic Forum." That's where the homiles of the Executive Director of University Ministry at USF are posted. UPDATED UPDATE: June 24 (Most Holy Redeemer & the Gay Pride Parade): Since we last posted on June 22, the parade lineup posted on the "Pride 2008" website has been changed, and no longer shows Most Holy Redeemer participating. Here's a screenshot of the site on June 22, which shows MHR listed as marching (group #116). Here's the link to today's (June 24) lineup. MHR is no longer listed as marching. UPDATE: June 22, 2008 (Most Holy Redeemer & the Gay Pride Parade): Perhaps, in our "Good News" entry of June 11, 2008 we spoke too soon. According to LifesiteNews, the Archdiocese of San Francisco had asked Most Holy Redeemer not to participate in this year's "Gay Pride" parade (to be held this coming Sunday, June 29) and the parish had agreed. . . From the LifeSite News story: "The San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese has asked Most Holy Redeemer Parish in the Castro district not to participate this year and the parish has so far agreed. LifeSiteNews contacted the archdiocese after it was reported Tuesday by the California Catholic Daily that Most Holy Redeemer parish would once again participate in San Francisco's Pride Weekend - an event featuring sundry displays of obscenity, replete with floats and marchers celebrating all sorts of alternative sexual lifestyles from same-sex "marriage" to bisexuality to polyamory. The parish's AIDS Support Group was going to participate officially and had asked parishioners to help them set up a "major Beverage Booth in Civic Center" on Saturday, June 28, the first day of the homosexual festivities. However, Maurice Healy, Communications Director for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, spoke with Archbishop George Niederauer and told LifeSiteNews today that the archdiocese had addressed the situation. "There is no way we control individual people, but in terms of the parish, yes, we have asked them not to participate as a parish," Healy stated. LifeSiteNews attempted to reach Most Holy Redeemer's pastor Rev. Stephen Meriwether for comment. Calls, however, were not returned by press time. The MHR AIDS Support Group, on the other hand, confirmed to LifeSiteNews that they no longer will be involved. "We're not going to be involved in the parade now this year," said director Robert Pementell." But according to the "SF Pride" website, (select the parade drop-down menu, then select "Parade Line Up") MHR will be marching in slot #116 iin the parade. And the MHR bulletin is still announcing they will staff a beverage booth, and is still asking for volunteers. June 13, 2008 (USF): USF's Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought and "Voice of the Faithful" will host Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, Retired Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Australia as he speaks on "Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus." Because of what the Bishops of Australia referred to as "doctrinal difficulties" in his Bishop Robinson's writings, Cardinal Roger Mahoney denied him permisssion to speak in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In his letter, Cardinal Mahony said he had recently learned of the Australian bishops’ statement about the bishop’s book. He also said he had learned that Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Prefect for the Congregation of Bishops, has urged Bishop Robinson to cancel his U.S. visit. UPDATE: GOOD NEWS! The Los Angeles Times reports that Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco has joined Cardinal Mahoney, and has asked Bishop Robinson not to speak in the Archdiocese. We thank His Excellency for this action, and we are interested to see whether or not USF will will disinvite Bishop Robinson. DOUBLE UPDATE: TAKE THAT ARCHBISHOP NIEDERAUER! USF disregarded the specific request of the shepherd of the Archdicese of San Francisco, and allowed Bishop Robinson to speak on campus. MORE GOOD NEWS: June 11, 2008 (Most Holy Redeemer): Lifesite News reports that the "Archdiocese of San Francisco" has asked Most Holy Redeemer not to participate in San Francisco's "Gay Pride" parade. (Since 1998, MHR has marched annually, as a parish, in the parade.) According to the article, they have agreed. We believe that such a request could only come from Archbishop George Niederauer, and we commend His Excellency for this action. As far as we know, he is the first Archbishop of San Francisco to take this action.   June 3, 2008 (Catholic Charities CYO): On June 3, 2008, CCCYO will host its annual Red House Fundraiser. Last year's "Red House" event was notable due to the fact that the featured entertainer was transvestite and same-sex "marriage" activist "Donna Sachet." This year's event is especially interesting because of its proximity to the recent California Supreme Court's decision on same-sex "marriage." Honorary Committee members of this year's event (and their reactions to the court's decision) include: • Mayor Gavin Newsom: "What a day in San Francisco! What a day for equality! Who among us was prepared for this extraordinary moment and extraordinary time," said Newsom, who cut short a trip to Washington, D.C. to return home Wednesday night to await the court's ruling. "I can't tell you how proud I am to be a San Franciscan." "It's an affirmation of the gay and lesbian community and an extraordinary day for all of us as Americans," Newsom told the Bay Area Reporter in a Thursday phone call. -Bay Area Reporter; May 15, 2008 • Supervisor Bevan Dufty: "I think it is a win for justice and a win for California and a win for the future." -Bay Area Reporter; May 15, 2008. • Rebecca Rolfe, Executive Director, San Francisco LGBT Center: "This is the best day of my professional life." -San Francisco Bay Times; May 22, 2008. Another Honorary Committee Member is, once again, transvestite entertainer "Donna Sachet," who is a Board Member of the Equality California Institute. "Equality California" was one of those represented in the case before the supreme court. Contrast the statements of the Honorary Committee members with the position of the Catholic Church, as enunciated by Archbishop George Niederauer (here), Bishop Allen Vigneron (here), and the Vatican (here).   Friday, May 16 & Saturday May 17, 2008 (USF). We had been wondering what the responses throughout our Archdiocese would be to yesterday's ruling by the California Supreme Court, legalizing same-sex "marriage" in the State of California. As we have documented, this year's visiting Scholar-in Residence is Jesuit Father James Keenan, who testified before the Massachusetts legislature supporting same-sex "marriage." Well, look who's receiving an honorary degree at this year's commencement: "Ambassador Mark Dybul will be among seven distinguished guests to receive an honorary degree. Dybul will be singled out for his work at the forefront of the international fight against HIV/AIDS as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator. With an estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, more than half of those in sub-Sahara Africa, Dybul is a role model for USF students as someone with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed, and the values and sensitivity to be men and women for others." -USF News May 15, 2008. Ambassador Dybul obviously does some good work. But there's more to the story: "Dybul is the United States’ Global AIDS Coordinator, a position that carries the rank of ambassador. He has the role of leading the implementation of President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Dybul was sworn in by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice October 10, while his homosexual “partner”, Jason Claire, held the Bible." -Lifesite News.com So one day after the Supreme Court of the State of California legalizes same-sex "marriage," USF chooses to honor an open and out homosexual. Once again, we cite the statement of the United Conference of Catholic Bishops on "Catholics in Political Life": "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." Monday, May 12, 2008 (USF): Fr. Vincent Pizzuto, a priest of the Celtic Christian Church and Professor of Theology at USF, is a guest speaker on "The Independent Catholic" show on BlogTalkRadio. Father Pizzuto speaks on "Homosexuality and Biblical Interpretation." The full discussion can be heard by going here. (A little patience is required--it takes about a minute for the audio to come on.) Especially interesting is the segment from 9 minutes in to about 11 minutes, where Fr. Pizzuto states that he was specifically asked by USF to engage in outreach to the "LGBT Community" both in the Church and in the surrounding community. The issues USF wanted addressed included adoption and unspecified "gay rights." Since Fr. Pizzuto has embraced a religion claiming to be Catholic, yet not in communion with Rome, it may be legitimate to ask why he is still teaching theology at a Catholic University. From the Code of Canon Law: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH (Can. 833) Can. 833 The following are obliged personally to make a profession of faith according to the formula approved by the Apostolic See: 7/ in the presence of the grand chancellor or, in his absence, in the presence of the local ordinary or their delegates, the rector of an ecclesiastical or Catholic university, when the rector’s function begins; in the presence of the rector if he is a priest or in the presence of the local ordinary or their delegates, teachers in any universities whatsoever who teach disciplines pertaining to faith or morals, when they begin their function; Is it possible for Fr. Pizzuto to make a profession of faith to the Catholic Church after he has abandoned her to embrace a different religion? Wednesday, April 30, 2008 6:30-8 pm (Most Holy Redeemer): The "Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry" of the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley presents: "A Gay, Male, Christian, Sexual Ethic." From the description on their events page: "Discerning how to "have sex" ethically requires first of all discerning what "sex" means for us today...Not only the meaning of sex but also who is engaged in sexual intimacy will necessarily shape sexual ethics." This event that is out of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, but we list it because it was plugged in the Most Holy Redeemer Church bulletin of April 27, 2008. We also note that one of the people listed as a Bay Area Advisory Board member of the "CLGS" is Mr. Jim McCrae. He is also listed as, among other things, a Pastoral Council member and Finance Committee member at Most Holy Redeemer. The "CLGS" information is out of date: Mr. McCrae is not currently a member of the MHR Pastoral Council. His Board Member bio is worth reading none the less: Dignity, Metropolitan Community Church, etc. We further note that on November 29, 2007, the "CLGS" hosted Fr. Donal Godfrey, SJ, Executive Director of University Ministry at USF. Fr. Godfrey spoke at one of their "Lavender Lunches" on "Open and Affirming Roman Catholic Institutions." From that event description: "Fr. Donal will present case studies of Most Holy Redeemer parish in The Castro and the University of San Francisco. These two very differing institutions are Catholic examples of best practice with regard to the LGBTQ community." Finally, we note that the "CLGS" is another of those homosexual activist groups who receive funding from the Horizons Foundation. Other "Horizons" grantees include Family Builders by Adoption (staffed by Catholic Charities of San Francisco); the Transgender Law Center (whose Board Chair is a Eucharistic Minster at Most Holy Redeemer); the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (whose Founder and Executive Director is a Professor at USF) and Catholic Charities of San Francisco (whose Treasurer sits on the Audit Committee of the Horizons Foundation). April 25-27, 2008. (Call to Action/Catholic San Francisco Newspaper): The West Cost Regional Call to Action Conference 2008 was held April 25-27at the Wyndham Hotel in San Jose. "Call to Action's" position on homosexuality can be found here. The conference is out of our Archdiocese, but we mention it because one of the featured speakers is Mr. Rob Grant, who is a sometime guest columnist for "Catholic San Francisco," the newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. See here (PDF 8.8MB, page 16) and here (PDF 13.1MB, page 21). It will be good here to remind the reader of the Vatican's position on "Call to Action." "The Vatican has determined that “the activities of ‘Call to Action’ in the course of these years are in contrast with the Catholic Faith due to views and positions held which are unacceptable from a doctrinal and disciplinary standpoint,” Cardinal Re writes. He concludes: “Thus to be a member of this Association or to support it, is irreconcilable with a coherent living of the Catholic Faith.” But not, apparently, with writing columns for "Catholic San Francisco." April 22, 2008 (USF): Sometime not long before this date, the "Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought" at USF posts a new listing on their event calendar. The listing is for the "West Coast Regional call to Action Conference 2008" (see above). For more about the ongoing activities of the Lane Center, scroll down to our entry of "March 14, 2008 (USF)" or go to our "USF Chronology" page. April 19, 2008 (Most Holy Redeemer): The "Golden Gate Guards" host their 2008 "Golden Dildeaux" awards. According to Frantix.net, where voting for the awards is conducted, one of the contestants will be David Differding, Liturgy Planning Coordinator at Most Holy Redeemer Church. UPDATE: It looks like he may have won. Go here first, then here, for a picture of Mr. Differding apparently receiving an award at the event. Mr. Differding also competed for the "Dick of Death" Award at the 2005 "Golden Dildeaux" awards. April 12-13, 2008 (Catholic Charities CYO): The Archdiocesan-mandated special collection for Catholic Charities CYO took place in all the parishes of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Less than 24 hours after CCCYO "honored" George Marcus and Levi Strauss, Inc., CCCYO is in the parishes of San Francisco, with hands out, asking for donations. Some of the funds collected will go towards facilitating the adoption of children by gay, lesbian, and "transgendered" persons. On April 8, California Catholic Daily had an article that covered much of the ground we cover here. April 11, 2008 (Catholic Charities CYO) of San Francisco held its annual "Loaves and Fishes" Fundraising Dinner at the Westin St. Francis Hotel on Union Square. The honoree for "Outstanding Philanthropic Works" was Mr. George M. Marcus. Archbishop George Niederauer, Chairman of the Board of Catholic Charities CYO, was in attendance. Although we have said CCCYO no longer feels the need to hide their true nature, the brazenness of this shocks even us. The links below are to PDF's of the pertinent California Secretary of State's Campaign Finance Pages: • On August 16, 2004, Mr. Marcus gave $50,000 to the "Yes on 71" campaign, which authorized $3.5 billion for taxpayer funded Embryonic Stem-Cell Research. This was unrelentingly opposed by the California Conference of Catholic Bishops, not to mention the USCCB, not to mention the Holy Father. Opposition to ESCR is a non-negotiable Catholic issue. • On October 6, 2005, Mr. Marcus gave $25,000 to the "No on Proposition 73 Campaign for Teen Safety." Proposition 73 was a Parental Notification Initiative that would have required an underage girl to notify her parents before having an abortion. This was very strongly supported by the California Conference of Catholic Bishops. • On September 26, 2006, Mr. Marcus gave $25,000 to the "No on 85" campaign. Proposition 85 was another parental notification initiative. • On October 10, 2006, Mr. Marcus gave an additional $75,000 to the "No on 85" campaign. • On May 29, 2007, Mr. Marcus gave $3,600 to the "Mark Leno for Senate" campaign. Reminder: every year, Assemblyman Leno sponsors legislation to overturn Prop. 22 and legalize same-sex "marriage" in California. The defense of natural marriage is another non-negotiable Catholic Issue. As if that wasn't enough, the Honoree for "Outstanding Corporate Philanthropy" was Levi Strauss, Inc. The Levi Strauss Foundation has given: • $45,000 to the International Planned Parenthood Federation. • $7,500 to Planned Parenthood Federation of America. • $1,009,000 to Population Sevices International. • $20,000 to the Population Council, Inc. The Levi Strauss Foundation also gives grants to numerous homosexual activist organizations, including the "Horizons Foundation" (a member of whose Audit Committee, we remind you, also just happens to be Treasurer of CCCYO.) March 21, 2008 (USF): This happened last August, but we just found out about it today. Vincent Pizzuto Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies (as well as a Member of the "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning" Caucus at USF) was ordained priest into the "Celtic Christian Church." sometime on or before August 21, 2007. Pictures of the Ordination are here. More on this at our "USF Chronology" page. Scroll down to the entry for August 21, 2007. Of course if it were a CATHOLIC vocation, that'd be even bigger news... March 14, 2008 (USF): USF President Fr. Sephen Privett, SJ, writes strange defensive column in "Catholic San Francisco" attempting to defend Fr. James Keenan, USF 2008 Summer Scholar-in Residence from charge he "testified in support of gay mariage." Facts easily found, documented here and here. Oddly, Fr. Privett also chooses to cite, as evidence of USF's commitment to Catholic Education, the "Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought." The Lane Center has: Sponsored the "Queer Perspectives" seminar in 2006; Sponsored the "Alienated Catholics" seminar in 2006; Hosted the "Religion and Sexuality" seminar, (PDF 1.8MB) featuring guest speakers from Planned Parenthood in 2007; Co-sposored the screening of "For the Bible Tells Me So" in 2008. Welcomed Fr. James Keenan (PDF) as "Scholar-in-Residence" in 2008.  March 14, 2008 (Catholic Charities CYO): Cahill Retires. Today's Catholic San Francisco announced that the Executive Director of Catholic Charities CYO, Brian Cahill, is retiring. Under Cahill's leadership, CCCYO embarked on the disastrous partnership with "Family Builders by Adoption" "the gayest (adoption) agency in the country" which has resulted in Catholic Charities supplying staff to an organization that actively seeks gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons to adopt children. Under Cahill's leadership CCCYO also saw fit to have a transvestite "gay marriage" activist entertain at one of their fundraisers. Mr. Cahill also found time to be the guest speaker at the Ash Wednesday Vespers Service at (where else) Most Holy Redeemer. We pray Catholic Charities finds its way. March 13, 2008: "Scottish bishop urges Christians to join cultural battle. Glasgow, Mar. 13, 2008 (CWNews.com) - An outspoken Scottish Catholic bishop has stirred controversy by charging that homosexual activists are engaged in a "huge and well orchestrated conspiracy" to undermine Christian beliefs." Full story is here. That is exactly what this website is about. March 10, 2008 (USF): The "Presentation Theater" at USF will host a "Human Rights Film Night" Co-sponsored by the USF Lane Center, Media Studies Department, Theology and Religious Studies Department, and the LGBTQ Caucus. Featured film is "For the Bible Tells me so." The consecration of openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. Bishop Robinson is one of those profiled in "For the Bible Tells Me So." From the announcement: "Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate? Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Karslake's provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible." How similar this is to what we hear from Professors of Theology at USF: “Thus, despite coming up against Magisterial teachings to the contrary, the alienation which homosexual catholics experience is not rooted in that which they believe to be intrinsic to Christian tradition itself, but rather, is associated with an erroneous interpretation of tradition imposed by the teaching authorities of the church. -Vincent Pizzuto, Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, University of San Francisco. February 16 (Most Holy Redeemer): The "Inter-Club Fund" holds its annual Awards Dinner at Ellard Hall in Most Holy Redeemer Church.They have held their awards dinners at MHR in the years 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, & 2008. The photo below is of one of the "Alameda County Leather Corps 'Monks'" at the "Golden Gate Guards 2000 "Run." Both groups are members of the "Inter-Club Fund."     For photos of these awards dinners, go here first, then here to see 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007. It is unbelievable that such an organization would be allowed to its events in the hall of a Catholic Church. The "Inter-Club Fund" is an oranzation made up of seven sub-organizations: The Alameda County Leather Corps, and here. One of their "monks" is shown in the picture above. Bears of San Francisco, and here. The Defenders (an Affiliate of "Dignity USA" who call themselves a "Catholic leather club.") Dykes on Bikes The Golden Gate Guards, go here first, then here and here. The picture above was taken at their 2000 "run." The Phoenix Uniform Club, and here. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, go here first, then here and here. Did the Archdiocese know about this event? If not, why not? The MHR/Inter-Club Fund relationship has been known for a long time. The February 16, 2008 Awards Dinner has been publicized for months. February 7-9 (USF): Performances of "The Vagina Monologues" are staged at the "Presentation Theater" of the (Jesuit) Unviersity of San Francisco.   To see what the United States Bishop Committee on Doctrine said about "The Vagina Monologues" on Catholic Campuses, go here. Here's what our Archdiocese has said about "The Vagina Monolgues" at USF: February 6 (Most Holy Redeemer and Catholic Charities CYO): Catholic Charities' Executive Diresctor Brian Cahill is the featured speaker at Most Holy Redeemer's Ash Wednesday Vespers Service. During Cahill's tenure at CCCYO, the organization supplies staff to "Family Builders by Adoption" who actively recruit gay, lesbian, bisexual, & "transgendered" adoptive parents. The presider at the Vespers service is Fr. Joseph Healy, "a son of the parish." In his book "Gays and Grays," FR. Donal Godfrey says of Healy: "The Castro Country Club was founded by an openly gay parishioner at MHR, Joseph Healy; Healy has since become a priest in the diocese of San Francisco." The Treasurer and Board Members of CCCYO, open lesbian Nanette Lee Miller, is also a member of the Liturgy Planning Committee and a Eucharistic Minister at MHR.