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Notre Dame Cathedral Fire
"Notre Dame Cathedral Reminds Us that We Have Souls"
Statement from the Most Reverend Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco and Chairman of the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship:
"Yesterday we watched with profound grief and shock as the jewel of Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, was being consumed in flames. We give thanks to God that no lives were injured, for the firefighters who risked their lives to save the Cathedral from total destruction, for those who have already made generous commitments to the cause of rebuilding, and for the young Catholics who knelt to pray and sing to Mary together in the face of this tragedy.
"Paris’ mother church of Our Lady is a powerful symbol of spiritual and national unity of the people of France and of Western Civilization as a whole, a sacred space which lifts the soul to God. This is, then, a painful tragedy for the entire world, as witnessed to by the global outpouring of grief in response to yesterday’s catastrophe.
"Indeed, in the midst of our shock and sadness we should not overlook the fact that we were joined together in a special way, mourning a great House of God, an object of sacred beauty, which has literally stood the test of time. We mourn together.
"How did this burning building move so many? Sacred beauty has a power. It moves us because Beauty is not just a frill or a decoration, it is, along with Truth and Goodness, one of the three faces of God. Standing before the Rose Window, looking up at the awesome Gothic ceilings, praying with people around the world, we are reminded that, as human beings created in God’s image, we do not live by bread alone. Notre Dame Cathedral calls out to us to remember that we have souls. It reminds us that God has given us the capacity to create sacred beauty that has lasting value, which points us beyond this world alone.
"I join with the President of the US Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, in his expression of condolence and solidarity with the people of France, and extend those sentiments to the French community here in the Bay Area.
"As we approach the commemoration of Our Lord’s saving Passion, death and Resurrection in the Easter Triduum services, I encourage all of us in our Archdiocese to keep France and her children in our prayers, along with the intention that Notre Dame will soon rise from the ashes to once again give glory to God and honor to the Mother of His Son." -
Update: Star of the Sea School
STAR OF THE SEA SCHOOL
TO SUSPEND CLASSES IN JUNE
San Francisco, April 3, 2019 – Fr. Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea Parish and School in San Francisco and the Archdiocese of San Francisco, announced that the K-8 elementary school will suspend classes at the end of the current school year in June. The school will continue its preschool classes uninterrupted and will build greater collaboration between the fully-enrolled preschool and the elementary school. After much consultation, the decision has been made to take the necessary time to develop an Integrated Classical Program, including curriculum development, marketing strategy, and effective business model. Fr. Illo issued this statement to parents today:
“Star of the Sea Parish and School has done everything possible to maintain classes uninterrupted during this time of transition into an Integrated Classical Program. Due to unforeseen challenges, however, we now see that it is wiser to take additional time to properly study, design, market and fund this new model at Star of the Sea School. We regret that we must suspend classes because of projected low enrollment for the upcoming school year.
“This has been a difficult and uncertain period for many school parents, some of whom have strongly expressed their concerns and reluctance to this development. There has also been a good deal of positive interest in moving forward with this new model. I am looking forward to working with people who are eager to develop this kind of school in San Francisco. I am most grateful to our faculty and staff, who have been working so hard along with parish staff, to develop the Integrated Classical Program. I also continue to be grateful to the Department of Catholic Schools for the expertise they bring to help us develop this exciting education format.”
Pamela Lyons, Superintendent of Catholic Schools said, “While I am saddened by the suspension of classes at Star of the Sea School, I agree that moving to a new model of education takes careful strategic planning in order to offer a quality Catholic program that benefits our students and families. It would have been ideal if this transition to an Integrated Classical Program could have taken place with enough students to financially sustain the school; however that just isn’t the case. Star of the Sea School has a rich history of educating the Catholic children of San Francisco and I see no reason why that history will not continue in the near future.”
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Pope Francis' Summit: A Cardinal's Comment
Cardinal William J. Levada
Ash Wednesday, March 6, 2019
As Printed in Catholic San Francisco
Thank you, Pope Francis! Amid the calls for action by victims and the media, lamenting that the recent Vatican meeting of the presidents of the bishops’ conferences from around the world did not adopt concrete steps, we should not forget the importance of this initiative taken by Pope Francis. When these conference presidents report back to their brother bishops in their respective countries, they will be sure that the pope expects them to adopt the concrete measures required to deal with the issue of clerical abuse of minors in their own cultural context.The Times cites the “acceleration of revelations,” and gives as its principal example the Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing “abuse by hundreds of priests over many years.” But this is misleading. This grand jury report details the offenses of some priests that can only be described as diabolical. It was compiled from the diocesan records, court documents, victims’ testimonies, many of which were already in the public domain. So the word “revelations” is not a good choice, as if these crimes are somehow “breaking news.” When it comes to sexual abuse, whether by priests or by CEOs as the #MeToo movement illustrates, it takes many years for some victims to come forward. In the case of abuse by priests, the Pennsylvania Report covers the whole of the 20th century in six dioceses. The abuse peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, as the professionally done report of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice demonstrated. All the indicators I have seen report a dramatic decrease in the allegations of clergy sexual abuse in the last two decades. This concurs with the judgment of Peter Steinfels about the implementation of the Dallas Charter: He calls the charter “an institutional success.”
The media generally have given little attention to the fact that Pope Francis’ initiative in calling the conference presidents together on this question has not occurred in a vacuum. In 2011, when I was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), with the approval and encouragement of Pope Benedict, we sent a circular letter to all 112 bishops’ conferences asking them to send us a copy of the protocol adopted by the conference on clerical sex abuse of minors (if such existed), or to develop such a protocol according to the guidelines we provided. My term as prefect of the CDF ended in 2012. But I am reliably told that all but six of the 112 bishops’ conferences have complied – and those six are conferences in war-torn countries with minimal resources.
This work is obviously still ongoing. One concrete step that I recommend to the Holy Father, following up on the recent Vatican meeting, would be to require a review of these protocols (or “Charter” as adopted by the U.S. Bishops in Dallas in 2002) as part of the future ad limina visits of the world’s bishops to the Holy See. These visits are scheduled to occur every five years. In preparation for the visit, every diocesan bishop presents a “Quinquennial Report” describing the state of the diocese (or eparchy, vicariate, prefecture). These reports could require information about the implementation of the bishops’ conference’s protocol/charter, which would be the basis for a meeting of the bishop(s) with the CDF during the ad limina visit, to review the adequacy of the conference’s charter/protocol and the steps the bishops have taken to ensure compliance with it in their dioceses. Such meetings during the ad limina visits would ensure an accountability on the part of both the bishops’ conferences and the local churches, in a forum that would also guarantee that the best practices of the conferences that have been dealing with this issue could be broadly shared. The issue of requiring a similar accountability for religious orders would also have to be determined.
Much comment in the media about the pope’s summit has bought into a kind of amnesia about the concrete steps already taken in countries like ours. This is quite unfortunate. These charters and protocols are an essential tool for the church to adopt in every part of the world, since they contain precisely the concrete plan of action to address the problem of sexual abuse in their own cultural situation.
Regrettably, in my view, much of the public media (not to mention some victims’ advocates) have ignored the concrete steps already in place in many countries – especially in North America and Western Europe – that have proven effective in dealing with the crisis of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and others in the church and her institutions. Does the ignoring of these concrete steps already in place result from a kind of “amnesia,” or is it rather a willful bias on the part of media and other commentators?
For me a good example of media bias was The New York Times editorial two days after Pope Francis and the bishop conference presidents concluded their extraordinary meeting on Sunday, Feb. 24. “Activists in the West are fed up with pledges of change in the 17 years since The Boston Globe revealed systematic abuse in the Boston diocese,” said the Times. “The revelations have accelerated in recent years” citing “the grand jury report from Pennsylvania of abuse by hundreds of priests over many years.”
The “17 years” the Times refers to are coterminous with the 17 years since the Dallas Charter was adopted. This charter put into place “concrete actions” in every diocese, parish and institution in the U.S. For example, accused priests are suspended while allegations are investigated; if the allegations are found credible, the offending priests are permanently removed from ministry (the charter’s “zero tolerance” policy); allegations are promptly reported to law enforcement; lay review boards with professional expertise have been established in every diocese; seminarian screening and human formation for chaste celibate living has been intensified; background checks and mandatory training for all church workers and volunteers have been put into place; there are programs of education for priests and for parents; and finally, an annual audit of diocesan compliance with the policies and programs required by the charter is conducted by the lay national review board. But the Times gives these important “concrete steps” not so much as a nod.
The Times and others who continue to cite the Pennsylvania grand jury report as if it were the gold standard should read the meticulously researched critique of it by Peter Steinfels, in an article published in the Jan. 14 issue of Commonweal magazine. “In fact,” says Steinfels, who served as The New York Times’ senior religion reporter from 1988 to 1997, “the report makes not one but two distinct charges. The first one concerns predator priests, their many victims, and their unspeakable acts.” He calls this first charge or finding “dreadfully true.” The second charge made in the grand jury report is that “All of these victims were brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institutions above all.”
Steinfels’ detailed analysis of the grand jury’s second charge is an important corrective to the media bias in favor of this grand jury report. He says, “My conclusion is that this second charge is in fact grossly misleading, irresponsible, inaccurate, and unjust. It is contradicted by material found in the report itself – by testimony submitted to the grand jury but ignored – and, I believe, by evidence that the grand jury never pursued.”
The Steinfels article is must reading for a fair analysis of the Pennsylvania grand jury report. But the Times editorial also displays a more explicit anti-Catholic bias when it comments that “the church has always been harsh on matters of sex, whether demanding celibacy of its priests, condemning birth control or prohibiting homosexual sex.” When we think of the impact of the sexual revolution of the 1960s on society as a whole, I think it is fair to say that it is not only the church that was caught unprepared for these developments and challenges to living out our human sexuality in accord with God’s plan. Relying on his grace and help, we can be confident that we are on track to meet these challenges in our own country, and to work with our brothers and sisters in the many cultures in which the church has taken root over these two millennia of Christianity, to support their work to eradicate the destructive behavior of sexual abuse.
All of this does not mean that we American bishops can rest on our laurels. Helping victims of sexual abuse is an ongoing responsibility. Making sure that bishops are held accountable for their own personal behavior and for overseeing the processes set in place by the charter is on the current agenda of the conference. And helping to heal the wounds in the body of Christ, caused by these sins and crimes of sexual abuse, must continue to be part of our spiritual course of action for the future.
Cardinal William J. Levada is Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Archbishop Emeritus of San Francisco.
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Statement on Death Penalty Moratorium
March 13, 2019
California Catholic Bishops Welcome Death Penalty Moratorium
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, in whose Archdiocese the death chamber is located, has issued the following statement on behalf of the California Catholic Conference of Bishops regarding the declaration of a moratorium on executions by California Governor Gavin Newsom:
“The Roman Catholic Bishops of California welcome the announcement by Governor Newsom today that he is declaring a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in the state of California. We appreciate this recognition that the state has the adequate means to defend human dignity and public safety without recourse to capital punishment. We ask the Governor to urge the legislature to find a permanent legislative solution that will end the practice of capital punishment in our state for good.
“We also encourage the Governor to use well the time of the moratorium to promote civil dialogue on alternatives to the death penalty, including giving more needed attention and care to the victims of violence and their families. Capital punishment is not a cure for the suffering and turmoil inflicted by violent crime; the restorative healing of victims and their families to the extent possible is an essential part of justice.
“With regard to the practice of capital punishment itself, it has been apparent for many years that such recourse to the ultimate punishment is not necessary in a modern society. Repeated studies have proven that it does not serve as a deterrent, that too many innocent people are condemned, and that sentencing is too often influenced by racial, economic and other discriminatory factors.
“The Catholic Church has long recognized these realities, beginning with Saint Pope John Paul II and continuing with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. They have been joined by numerous national conferences of bishops, including our own U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and other Catholic leaders throughout the world. Pope Francis in particular has modified the Catechism of the Catholic Church to assert that the death penalty is “inadmissible” in order to underscore that it undermines the respect for life demanded by the intrinsic dignity of every human life.
“We thank Governor Newsom for this decision, and pray that this moratorium will bear fruit for a more just and equitable solution to addressing the violence that plagues our society.”PDF Statement on Death Penalty Moratorium
Archbishop Interview on Relevant Radio March 19, 2019
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Bishop Robert F. Christian, O.P., named Rector of St. Patrick Seminary
January 14, 2019
The Archdiocese of San Francisco announces that the Most Reverend Robert Christian, O.P., Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco, has been appointed Rector-President of St. Patrick Seminary, effective January 14, 2019. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said, “I am excited that Bishop Christian, a man of deep love for the Church and extensive academic achievement, will be leading the seminary during its next phase of development and growth.”
Bishop Christian is a highly respected theologian and professor, holding teaching and administrative positions at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome over the past 35 years. From 1997 to 1999 he served as vicar provincial of the Western Dominican Province headquartered in Oakland, California, and in 1990 was a participant in the preparation for the Synod of Bishops on “The Formation of Priests in the Circumstances of the Present Day” and served as a peritus (expert) at that same Synod.
For the last several years Bishop Christian has served the Church as a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission and as a consultor to the Pontifical Commission for the Promotion of Christian Unity. During the three years before his ordination as a bishop in 2018, he served the Western Dominican Province as Student Master and as adjunct professor at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. He will continue to serve the Archdiocese as Auxiliary Bishop, but with responsibilities accommodated to his role as seminary rector.
Archbishop Cordileone also thanked outgoing Rector-President Fr. George Schultze, S.J. “I wish to extend my deep gratitude for Fr. Schultze’s wonderful service as President-Rector for the last year-and-a-half. He has done outstanding work in building up the spiritual life of the Seminary and in his leadership in stabilizing and strengthening it during this time of transition. He is and always has been a man of integrity, faithful to his Christian and priestly calling in his personal and ministerial life.
“Fr. Schultze was also the right man to shepherd the Seminary at this critical moment of its history. In collaboration with the excellent staff around him, he has assembled an exemplary teaching faculty and has positioned the Seminary for continued future growth in excellence in priestly formation. I will forever be grateful to him for his willingness to take on this assignment.”
Prior to his term as President-Rector Fr. Schultze served on the seminary faculty for eleven years in various roles: an adjunct faculty member of moral theology and social ethics, director of the pastoral year formation of the seminarians, collaborator with many and varied administrative tasks, and a highly sought-out spiritual director. With selfless generosity he has provided pastoral care to staff and students at the Seminary as well as to religious and parish communities in the area. He has also always been responsive to the many requests he receives to offer days of recollection to priests and other groups of the faithful throughout the Bay Area.
After taking some time for prayer, study and personal enrichment, Fr. Schultze will return to his vocational calling of spiritual direction, providing critical assistance especially to priests in pursuing excellence in serving the Church as an alter Christus for God’s people.
Fr. Schultze said, “I thank God for what we have accomplished at St. Patrick’s during this last year-and-a-half that I have served as rector, and I am delighted with the choice of Bishop Christian for the next rector. His academic experience and skill in dealing with seminarians prepares him well for this role at this time in the life of the Seminary. I am looking forward to returning to my work in spiritual direction so that I can continue serving the Church as best I can in keeping with the abilities that God has entrusted to me – all for the salvation of souls and the greater glory of God.”
St. Patrick’s Seminary has been forming priests for the West Coast and Pacific Islands since 1898. The Seminary is committed to a second century of forming priests after Christ’s own heart. -
Response to National Sexual Abuse Crisis
All documents related to recent news on this topic can now be found in our Protecting Children section.
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Media Inquiries
Mike Brown
Director of Communication
Archdiocese of San Francisco
One Peter Yorke Way
San Francisco, CA 94109
(cell) 650-387-1160
(desk) 415-614-5636
brownm@sfarch.org