A Fool For Us: Archbishop George Niederauer
Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com
On Sunday, October 7, 2007, my Archbishop, Archbishop George Niederauer, made his pastoral visit to Most Holy Redeemer parish here in San Francisco. In a statement appearing this week in our weekly archdiocesan newspaper, Catholic San Francisco, my Archbishop issues an "apology" for his "mistake" of giving Holy Communion at the 10:00 a.m. Mass to two "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc." - a "leading edge Order of queer nuns". For his mistake, my Archbishop is receiving an unprecedented Internet bashing by . . . fellow Catholics. The Curt Jester called him "Mr. Magoo", Phil Lawler at Catholic World News suggested that my Archbishop was "spectacularly obtuse"; and The Roman Catholic Blog has posted a hit piece decrying the Archbishop as "progressive, "gay-friendly", Catholic bishop" while objecting that Bill O'Reilly "gave Archbishop Niederauer a complete pass" in his coverage of the incident.
Who will strike Archbishop Niederauer next?
Understand that the "Sisters" use Roman Catholicism as a vehicle for mockery - like the kingly crown of thorns and images used by the guards who escorted Jesus to his death. They host events such as the "Hunky Jesus" competition and they canonize their own "saints". It is their very purpose to embarrass and humiliate all things Catholic. Originally all gay white males, they take "vows to promulgate universal joy, expiate stigmatic guilt and serve the community." Their protocol focuses upon grotesque mockery of the Roman Catholic religious tradition of women, both in their costuming, claim to spirituality ("Many of our ceremonies . . . trace back to the Roman Catholic Church. Our ritual is also heavily tainted with goddess worship, transcendental meditation, radical fairy-ism and self-empowerment") and interactions with the public ("Sisters are outgoing and gregarious. However . . . it's always a good idea to ask Sister before you start feeling her up") and ministry ( "informing the cute boy at the bar about the risks of unsafe sex").
Their "Motherhouse" sits in the heart of San Francisco's flamboyantly gay Castro district, two blocks from the Most Holy Redeemer parish - a Roman Catholic parish that has served the neighborhood - through its radical secularization - since 1900. I lived within the geographical embrace of this parish but attended it only once, enough to witness the special needs of the homosexual community it valiantly serves and welcomes. For the sheltered, traditional Catholic, it's akin to "missionary" territory - where prevailing culture and Christian religious values clash so radically, so dramatically, it takes a fool to publicly pronounce and defend the message of Jesus and the Roman Catholic Church.
It takes a fool - a fool like Jesus who, in his mission among sinners, suffered grave and repeat humilitations, not unlike the humiliation suffered by my Archbishop - as the mustached "sisters" approached for Holy Communion, as an entire Church of believers - including clerics - silently watched the plan to humiliate unfold; as someone (who?) plottingly videotaped the mockery orchestrated by the "Sisters" (compare the photos of the Mass and reception posted by the parish itself); as my Archbishop penned an apology accepting complete and total responsibility for his own humiliation. It takes fool, a fool like Jesus, to save souls.
My Archbishop has issued a simple, humble apology. "After the event, I realized that they were members of this particular organization and that giving them Holy Communion had been a mistake." He did so without condemning or blaming anyone - perhaps he recalled the words he used in his homily during that very Mass - words which, I pray, my fellow Internet Catholics might also take to heart before they strike Archbishop Niederauer yet again.
"If we have a deep faith in Jesus, as he tells us today, our world can be much better, because we will be able to uproot from our lives the trees of selfishness, injustice and evil. If we believe in him, Jesus says, we can face the world with courage. The Savior reminds us that this courage comes from him, not from ourselves: he is the shepherd of the flock, and the flock is his, not ours. Our service to him is to be centered in him, not in ourselves. We should not put on airs and boast to ourselves what wonderful disciples we are, what faithful Catholics. . . we belong to Christ in life now, as we hope to belong to him for all eternity. This belonging is rooted . . . in Jesus Christ’s bottomless, redeeming love for us."
