The following comes from a June 10 story on SFGate.com.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom are among those urging San Francisco Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone not to attend a June 19 rally in Washington sponsored by two organizations that have lobbied hard nationally against same sex marriage.

“We ask that you will reconsider your participation and join us in seeking to promote
reconciliation rather than division and hatred,” Newsom, Lee and dozens of others said in a letter to Cordileone Thursday.

They understand that Cordileone, who is the point person for the U.S. Catholic Church on the marriage issue, has a different opinion. But according to a letter they signed to Cordileone Tuesday, the event is “organized by some of the nation’s most virulently anti-LGBT organizations and leaders, including the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and the Family Research Council.

“NOM has a long and well-documented history of publishing material that connects homosexuality with pedophilia and incest and falsely suggests that gays and lesbians are trying to “inculcate children.” Likewise, the Family Research Council, which is co-sponsoring the event, has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center because of their vitriolic rhetoric; recently, a spokesperson for FRC blamed the growing acceptance of marriage for same sex couples for the Isla Vista mass shootings.”

Cordileone, the leader of the 560,000-member archdiocese of San Francisco, has become a national leader in opposing same-sex marriage as the point man for the politically powerful U.S. Conference of Bishops. He helped raise $1.5 million to get Proposition 8, which banned same sex marriage, on the California ballot in 2008, calling gay marriage “the ultimate attack of the Evil One is the attack on marriage.”

Almost exactly a year ago, Cordileone explained in great detail to The Chronicle why he opposed same sex marriage.

In a letter explaining the second annual March for Marriage, Cordileone wrote:

“The March for Marriage will be an important means to promote and defend marriage for the good of our culture, to pray for our federal and state governments, and to stand in solidarity with people of good will. It also complements well the bishops’ Call to Prayer for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty (www.usccb.org/life-marriage-liberty). This is a critical time for marriage in our country, as marriage amendments are being struck down by federal courts and appeals of these decisions are being made. We are deeply grateful for any support you can offer for this march.”

To read the original story, click here.