The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, is concerned over reports that the new archbishop of San Francisco, George Niederauer, is “gay-friendly.”

Says Father Euteneuer:

“If the pro-gay attitudes, policies and statements of the new Archbishop of San Francisco have been reported accurately—and we have no reason to believe they have not—then his opinions run counter to the spirit and intent of the Vatican instruction on homosexuals in the seminary.

“He unfortunately opposed a ban on same-sex marriage in Utah and tried to deny that the sex abuse scandal has anything to do with sexual orientation. This is even out of synch with the U.S. bishops' own report that 81% of the sex abuse by priests has been perpetrated by homosexuals on male children and adolescents. How is this scandal not related to homosexual orientation?
“It is clear to everyone that San Francisco is the gay capital of our country and practically of the world, and that means the role of the Church in that diocese has to be one of calling men and women to conversion of heart from these terribly destructive behaviors. I pray that the new archbishop will bring the prophetic light of the Gospel to those who need it most.”
Human Life International has some excellent material on its website, www.hli.org.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Dec. 16, 2005 story on Archbishop Niederauer can be read here:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/16/MNGAKG93S21.DTL

Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic journalist and commentator. He is a columnist for and/or contributor to TheConservativeVoice.com, RenewAmerica.us, MichNews.com, Catholic.org, Opeds.com and Speroforum.com. He is also an occasional contributor to "The Wanderer" Catholic newspaper. He can be reached at mattcabbott@hotmail.com.