Her Archbishop responds

Since I had previously referenced Archbishop Niederauer lack of response to Nancy Pelosi, it is nice to see the actual column that was promised. The column is mostly quite good, though I agree with the comments Father Z made in his look at the document.

I especially liked:

Authentic moral teaching is based on objective truth, not polling. For instance, in 1861, as the Civil War began, a majority of the residents of Massachusetts opposed slavery, a majority of the residents of South Carolina approved of slavery, and in Missouri people were sharply divided on the issue. Does that mean that, in 1861, slavery was immoral in Massachusetts, moral in South Carolina, and something of a moral "wash" in Missouri? Sound moral teaching demands much more good sense than that.

Abortion is all about moral relativism so this is a great point. Morality by vote should be mocked.

I regret the necessity of addressing these issues in so public a forum, but the widespread consternation among Catholics made it unavoidable. Speaker Pelosi has often said how highly she values her Catholic faith, and how much it is a source of joy for her. Accordingly, as her pastor, I am writing to invite her into a conversation with me about these matters. It is my obligation to teach forthrightly and to shepherd caringly, and that is my intent. Let us pray together that the Holy Spirit will guide us all toward a more profound understanding and appreciation for human life, and toward a resolution of these differences in truth and charity and peace.

While I am rather skeptical such a meeting will take place, but you never know about the paths of grace so we should pray that not only does it happen but that their is a change of heart involved.

And while the Archbishop is inviting people for conversations may I recommend Gavin Newome.

San Francisco's "Catholic" mayor will join tomorrow in the official launching of the "No on 8 - Equality for All Campaign" at the old Tower Records store on Market Street.

In early January, on the occasion of his inauguration to a second term, Mayor Gavin Newsom and his family attended a Mass at the historic Mission Dolores Basilica. And to this day he continues to describe himself as Catholic.

Newsom, said to have his eyes on the governorship, will be acting in open defiance of California's bishops, who have officially endorsed Proposition 8 and have urged Catholics to support it.

But Newsom is no stranger to defiance of Church teachings or to thumbing his nose at prelates. It was Newsom who provoked a constitutional crisis in 2004 by granting marriage licenses to 4,000 same-sex couples in a case that eventually led to the May 15 California Supreme Court decision upholding same-sex marriages. Proposition 8 would undo that 4-3 ruling by amending the state constitution.

In 2006, the divorced San Francisco mayor, who describes himself as a "lifelong Catholic," abruptly canceled a trip to Rome for the installation of former San Francisco Archbishop William Levada as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Newsom said at the time that he decided to boycott Levada's installation in protest over the Church's prohibition on homosexuals adopting children.

In a February 2008 interview with The Santa Clara, the magazine of his Jesuit-run alma mater, Santa Clara University, Newsom said he "still has tremendous admiration for the Church and very strong faith."

Joining Newsom at the Northern California headquarters of the No on 8 Campaign tomorrow at 10 a.m. will be Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, also a San Francisco Democrat, as well as County Supervisor Tom Ammiano, Equality California executive director Geoff Kors, and National Center for Lesbian Rights executive director Kate Kendell, according to a flier announcing the event.

"With only 59 days to go, everyone needs to work to protect equality for all!" said a flier announcing the event. "We have come too far to let it slip away."