Christianity

S.F. Filmmaker Uses Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to Highlight Italy's Stonewall

In 1998, a gay writer named Alfredo Ormando knelt in St. Peter's Square and lit himself on fire. His self-immolation was a protest against the Church's strict stance against gay marriage and homosexuality in general. Now, over a decade after Ormando's death, the Pope is resigning in the midst of t ... More >>

Salvatore Cordileone: Gay Rights Advocates Will Protest Archbishop-Elect Installation Mass

Next Thursday, Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone will be installed as the San Francisco Archdiocese's Archbishop. Over the course of his career -- which began at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Calexico, a border town 122 miles east of San Diego, with a population that's 97 percent Latino -- Cord ... More >>

Tainted Saint: Mother Teresa Defended Pedophile Priest

Mormons: A Shallow Yet Helpful Guide to See If You Should Hate Them or Not

Evangelicals Speak Out in Favor of LGBT History Bill

Todd FerrellLast week, SF Weekly reported that antigay group Stop SB48 had started collecting signatures for a referendum to overturn the FAIR Education Act, the nation's first law requiring public schools to include LGBT history in the curriculum. We were contacted by The Evangelical Network, an ... More >>

Peninsula Priest Held in 'Private' S.F. Location As Abuse Investigation Moves Forward

​A Menlo Park priest placed on leave following improper conduct with a 17-year-old parishioner has been relocated to a "private" location in San Francisco while an internal investigation of the incident moves forward, according to the Archdiocese of San Francisco.Father William Meyers, pastor of S ... More >>

Let Him Prey: High-Ranking Jesuits Helped Keep Pedophile Priest Hidden

Preschool supporters say investor cut shady deal with Catholic Church

A Secrecy Fetish

District Attorney Kamala Harris is going too far in protecting Catholic pedophiles.

Ex-S.F. Arhcbishop Given 10-1 Odds Becoming Next Pope

What are the odds?​The Irish bookie site Paddypower is laying down 3-to-1 odds Pope Benedict XVI  will be ousted over accusations that he was behind misdeeds such as helping shield a priest who purportedly raped hundreds of deaf boys. But when God shuts a door, he opens a window -- and if a P ... More >>

Angels & Demons has a need for speed

San Francisco 'Lesbyterian' Seeking Ordination Derailed on Procedural Grounds

Lisa LargesA San Francisco lesbian's 23-year quest to be ordained a Presbyterian minister will have to continue for God knows how much longer. While the San Francisco Presbytery in January took the monumental step of approving Noe Valley's Lisa Larges as a candidate for ordination, the church's regi ... More >>

San Francisco 'Lesbyterian' Seeks Ordination

Lisa LargesEven if the Presbyterian Church refuses to ordain Lisa Larges a minister, there's no denying the San Francisco woman has shown the patience of Job. Larges -- a "practicing lesbian" and practicing Presbyterian at Noe Valley Ministry (does that make her a lesbyterian?) -- was first blocked ... More >>

SF Gov InAction: Supes Huddle in Closed Session to Gossip About Catholic Church and Landmark Trees

I wish I were a supervisor. Then I could have only three meetings this week. I kid, of course: It's hard work pretending to take this stuff seriously. Monday, Feb. 22 10:30 a.m. -- City Operations & Neighborhood Services Committee If I had to pick one word to describe this meeting, it wou ... More >>

Following the Money: Disclosure Discrepancies from Yes on 8, Mormons Persist -- and Grow

On Monday, we wrote about how the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints' recent disclosure of how much it contributed to Yes on Prop. 8 was nearly $90,000 more than the amount Yes on 8 reported receiving from the Church. After several days of sifting through additional forms provided by the Calif ... More >>

Doing the Math: Discrepancies in Contribution Dates, Values on Disclosures from Yes on Prop. 8, Mormons

The Mormon Church's recent "Oh, that $190,000!" disclosure to the California Secretary of State regarding its contributions to pass Proposition 8 and derail same-sex marriage should lead to a renewed bout of number-crunching from the Fair Political Practices Commission. Well, here's where to start: ... More >>

Everyone Look Busy: 'Black Pope' Headed to San Francisco

Born in Spain, educated in Japan, now 'Black Pope'America now has a black president. And next week San Francisco will be getting a visit from the Black Pope. No, this has nothing to do with the deeper meanings of the Vatican's white smoke and dark smoke, and Pope Benedict XVI was not a black member ... More >>

Hardline Catholics: Just Because You Gays Can't 'Marry' Doesn't Mean We Should Have to Pay Taxes!

San Francisco and Catholics just ain't gettin' along these days (if they ever did). We recently wrote about the Catholic Right urging believers nationwide to tell Mayor Gavin Newsom he's responsible for the recent graffiti on Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the Castro because Newsom permits na ... More >>

Latter-Gay Saints

Carol Lynn Pearson's gay Mormon drama sets the static and the fluid in bold opposition. Unfortunately, the static wins out.

Pulpit Nonfiction

Alleged victim of sex abuse by the local clergy is writing a book

No sex, no drugs, and Shields & Yarnell. It must be hell.

Troubled Order

Faced with lingering sex abuse complaints, the Salesians of St. John Bosco take their lumps in court

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Subpoenaed -- Again

But he couldn't dodge a determined process server

Levada's Secret

As he prepares to be deposed in San Francisco next week, former S.F. Archbishop William Levada may have to come clean about a priestly child molester he protected in Portland.

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, September 7, 2005

The Reformation of Matthew Fox

Against the odds, an Oakland theologian -- most famous as a critic of Pope Benedict XVI -- takes his inclusive notion of Christianity global

Blind Eye Unto the Holy See

Pope Benedict XVI named him Roman Catholicism's top doctrinal watchdog -- even though, as San Francisco archbishop, William J. Levada resolutely looked away from sex-abuse complaints against a renowned priest and legal scholar

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Cardinal Opportunity

A visit with Honduran Cardinal Rodriguez, who is often mentioned as a contender to become the next pope. For good reason.

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, February 9, 2005

Zipped Up

S.F. Archbishop William Levada doesn't want the public to know about decades of alleged sexual misconduct by his clerics. But why are district attorneys in San Mateo, Marin, and San Francisco helping him keep secrets?

Institute of Hate

Right-wingers are targeting liberal pastors -- including at least one in S.F. -- who favor gay marriage

Settling Things Quietly

In newly unsealed court documents, S.F.'s archbishop makes an eyebrow-raising comment in the case of a pedo-priest

Archbishop's Thorn

A priest removed from his church following allegations of sexual abuse appeals to the Vatican

Holy War on the Peninsula

S.F. Archbishop Levada wants an embattled priest to leave his post at a Belmont parish. The cleric refuses to go.

Prosecutors' Patience Wears Thin With Levada, Mahony

Nailed?

Lawyers for hundreds of sex-abuse victims have California's Catholic dioceses in a dire financial bind. Can church leaders finagle an escape, or are they ...

'Scuse Us, Folks

Sex-abuse victims may be no-shows at Archbishop Levada's upcoming public apology to them.

See No Evil

S.F. Archbishop William Levada styles himself as a leading advocate for openness among Catholic leaders on the clergy sex-abuse issue. So why doesn't he practice what he preaches?

Letters to the Editor

Week of April 2, 2003

Bishop Bad Boy

Santa Rosa's charismatic Catholic bishop got busted shaking down a priest for sex. But he had friends in high places -- and they served him well.

Un-Orthodox Behavior

Catholicism isn't the only religion with sexual abuse scandals. Three S.F. women are working to expose cases within the Orthodox Church.

Corpus Christi

Terrence McNally’s play

South to the Future

Will the Next Pope Be Catholic?

Awkward Christian Soldiers

How a Bay Area sect with an occult tinge went national, transformed itself into an odd brotherhood -- and now is gaining acceptance from the ultratraditional Orthodox Church

Letters

Cothran

Surgery Sans Blood

Jehovah's Witnesses refused transfusions -- and led the way to bloodless surgery

The Holy War Over Gay Marriage

Eighty Methodist pastors from Northern California plan to challenge church law by co-officiating at a lesbian wedding. It's an act of conscience that could sunder America's second-largest denomination -- and bring gay marriage to the center of national co