Archbishop Cordileone responds to critics on March for Marriage

June 17, 2014

Refusing to back down in the face of criticism, March for Marriage, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco has rejected calls for him to withdraw from the March of Marriage in Washington.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, in a letter urging Archbishop Cordileone not to participate in the June 19 event, had charged that the March would convey “disdain and hate” for homosexuals. But in his reply, contained in an open letter to activists who had lodged similar protests, the archbishop stressed that the demonstration would be a "pro-marriage march." The March, he said, "is not anti-anyone or anti-anything."

Archbishop Cordileone told the protesters that their complaints about sponsoring organizations, notably the National Organization for Marriage, were "based on misinterpretation or simply factually incorrect."

Responding to charges that the March for marriage would incite inflammatory rhetoric, the archbishop observed:

It gives me assurance that we share a common disdain for harsh and hateful rhetoric. It must be pointed out, though, that there is plenty of offensive rhetoric which flows in the opposite direction. In fact, for those who support the conjugal understanding of marriage, the attacks have not stopped at rhetoric. Simply for taking a stand for marriage as it has been understood in every human society for millennia, people have lost their jobs, lost their livelihoods, and have suffered other types of retribution, including physical violence.

The archbishop told his critics that he would be happy to meet with them, "simply so that we can get to know each other." He remarked: "It is the personal encounter that changes the vision of the other and softens the heart."

Archbishop Cordileone, who chairs the US bishops' committee on marriage, will be speaking at the March for Marriage.

 

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Further information:

• Archbishop Cordileone's letter (San Francisco archdiocese)
• Nancy Pelosi scolds Archbishop Cordileone for participation in pro-marriage event (CWN, 6/16)