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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Prop 8 advocate named SF archbishop

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO – A vigorous supporter of California’s same-sex marriage ban has been named the next Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco.

The Vatican announced Friday that Pope Benedict XVI selected the Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, the presiding bishop of Oakland, to replace Archbishop George Niederauer in October. Niederauer, 76, is retiring.

As an auxiliary bishop in San Diego four years ago, Cordileone, 56, was instrumental in devising an initiative to strip same-sex couples of the right to wed in California and then raising Catholic dollars to qualify it for the ballot.

He also was part of a statewide network of clergy that promoted the measure, known as Proposition 8. Campaign finance records show he personally gave at least $6,000 to back the voter-approved ban.

Since last year, Cordileone has been chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

In an interview with the National Catholic Register last year, Cordileone said that same-sex marriage is “a very serious social experiment that will have dire consequences.” Opposing it is “not a matter of religion,” he said.

Gay rights groups criticized the Pope’s choice of Cordileone to lead the San Francisco Archdiocese, which serves more than 400,000 Catholics in the city and neighboring Marin and San Mateo counties.

As archbishop, he also will oversee the bishops in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Oakland, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Santa Rosa, and Stockton.