SAN FRANCISCO INTERFAITH COUNCIL APOLOGIZES FOR MAYOR NEWSOM MARRIAGE EQUALITY REMARKS - FULL TEXT OF STATEMENT
11 December 2008
Tension apparent Tuesday between Roman Catholic Archbishop George Niederauer, left, and Mayor Gavin Newsom at the San Francisco Annual Interfaith Breakfast. Niederauer’s church made defeat of the California Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban its political priority during the November election campaign, while marriage equality was launched on world stage by Newsom. Many San Francisco Catholic clergy began refusing Communition to Newsom four years ago. Newsom remains a devout church-going but no longer requests Communion.
Photo by Bill Wilson © 2008
From The San Francisco Bay Area Reporter (BAR)
Asked if the archbishop, who was seated next to Newsom, “turned his back on the mayor following the remarks,” Healy responded, “[Your readers] should know also that the chair and vice chair of the San Francisco Interfaith Council subsequently apologized to Archbishop Niederauer for the conduct of the mayor.”
DeLange confirmed a letter had been sent.
“What we said in our letter to the archbishop was that we regret that Mayor Newsom chose this occasion to express his anger at the Catholic Church and other religious people whom he perceives as instrumental in the passage of Proposition 8 in the November 4 election,” DeLange said.
DeLange said copies of the letter, absent the words of regret to the archbishop, were sent to each of the program’s presenters, which included Niederauer. DeLange said they were compelled to apologize specifically to the archbishop because, “It was obvious when the mayor got the standing ovation and the archbishop, priests, and two other bishops did not stand,” that the archbishop was offended.
DeLange said the Mormon representatives also did not stand. The Mormons received no apology because they were not presenters at the event.
DeLange did not wish to call the mayor’s comments inappropriate. And he said that prior to Newsom’s comments, he saw the mayor and archbishop talking.
“It’s true that the mayor spoke from the heart and expressed his disappointment in his church, which he still claims, and expressed what he has learned about social justice and public service he learned in the Catholic Church and through his education by the Jesuits. But I thought they were inappropriate for this occasion,” DeLange said.
But according to attendees, DeLange’s own comments that were made before the mayor spoke lent themselves to Newsom’s remarks. According to a copy of DeLange’s address, entitled “The Pulse of Religion in San Francisco,” he said: “Those who protest against religion need to know that organized religion, its leaders, and its members are deeply divided on many issues. Just like non-believers are. In this contentious time, my hope is that organizations like the San Francisco Interfaith Council can provide a neutral space for a divided citizenry to come together and learn to respect each other and, where possible, agree to work on common problems.”
FULL TEXT OF INTERFAITH COUNCIL STATEMENT
11 December 2008
Dear Friends of the San Francisco Interfaith Council:
Some of you will be receiving this letter who did not attend the 11th Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Breakfast on November 25. We apologize that you are receiving this, but we have no way to separate our email list from those who attended and those who did not. You are welcome to read it and will soon discover the reason for this letter. Ed.
We want to thank you for attending the annual Mayor’s Interfaith Thanksgiving Prayer Breakfast on November 25. The 400 people who attended were much inspired by the work of our congregations and social service agencies in serving the hungry and poor of our city.
Since that day, you have likely read items in local newspapers about the Mayor’s remarks at the breakfast in which he expressed his displeasure with some members of the religious community for their support of Proposition 8 in the November 4 election. Proposition 8 was the state ballot initiative that established marriage as the exclusive right of opposite gender couples. We anticipate there will be more news articles appearing shortly as the leadership of the Interfaith Council has been interviewed a number of times.
At our monthly meeting on December 4, the members of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Interfaith Council (SFIC) expressed their dismay that the Mayor had used this occasion to express his frustration with those who supported Proposition 8, rather than to honor the efforts of the religious community in alleviating the suffering of the hungry and poor in our City.
The committee of our Board that planned this event, including the Chair, Executive Vice-Chair and Executive Director of the Council, had planned the program months before the November election. We had no idea or warning the Mayor would make these remarks.
The Board members of the SFIC, like the members of the 800+ congregations in San Francisco including Gavin Newsom, carry citizenship and loyalty in many places: we are loyal to our God, to our religious community, to our nation, state and city, and to the ethnic culture and gender group with which we identify. We are divided in our views on same gender marriage. Those divisions were evident in the reaction to the Mayor’s speech on November 25.
While some of us can understand his frustration and all of us support his right to express it, we regret that Mayor Newsom chose this occasion to express his frustration about the passage of Proposition 8. Many were deeply offended and hurt and for that we sincerely apologize.
The Board of Directors is committed to on-going dialogue on this and other issues. Our mission is to provide a safe place where religious people can sit at the table and freely air their differences. As Americans who are committed to the idea and the practice of religious freedom, we intend to do our part to bring people together. Like generations of Americans past, we will have to agree to disagree, but still respect one another as human beings and resolve to work together on our common problems. We are extending an invitation to Mayor Newsom to enter into this dialogue. We are also extending an invitation to those who disagree with him on Proposition 8.
We thank you for your support of the Interfaith Council and the efforts of our congregations and social service agencies to serve the poor and marginalized in our city. We hope you will continue to participate in those efforts.
Sincerely,
The Board of Directors
The San Francisco Interfaith Council
RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE
ITSELF NO LONGER
DUE RESPECT
NEVER AGAIN
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Bill Wilson is a veteran photographer whose work is published by San Francisco Bay Area media. His photos capture decades-long historic record of the San Francisco LGBT community in the Bay Area Reporter (BAR). Bill has contributed to the Sentinel for the past five years. Email Bill Wilson at wfwilson@sbcglobal.net.
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