Early life Cordileone was born on June 5, 1956, in
San Diego, California, and attended
Crawford High School from 1971 to 1974. He then studied at
San Diego State University for a year before entering the
University of San Diego, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1978. He then furthered his studies in Rome at the
Pontifical Gregorian University, earning a
Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1981. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Cordileone as an
associate pastor at Saint Martin of Tours Parish in
La Mesa, California, until 1985. Cordileone then returned to the Gregorian University, where he earned a
Doctor of Canon Law degree in 1989.
Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego On July 5, 2002, Cordileone was appointed as
auxiliary bishop of San Diego and
titular bishop of
Natchesium by
Pope John Paul II. He received his
episcopal consecration at the Immaculata Church of the University of San Diego on August 21, 2002, from Brom, with Bishops
Raymond Burke and
Gilbert Espinosa Chávez serving as
co-consecrators. and St. Gianna Physician's Guild in San Diego Cordileone is considered to be theologically
conservative. At the 2006 meeting of the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore, in the course of consideration of the document which issued as "
Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper" he proposed to the gathered bishops that the use of
artificial contraception should be included in a list of thoughts or actions constituting a grave matter. His proposal was defeated, although the bishops approved a separate document saying that "contraception is objectively immoral." Within the USCCB, Cordileone sat on the Bishops' and Presidents' Committee on Catholic Education from 2006 to 2009.
Bishop of Oakland Cordileone was named the fourth bishop of Oakland by
Pope Benedict XVI on March 23, 2009. Filling the vacancy left by Bishop
Allen Vigneron's promotion to
archbishop of Detroit in January, Cordileone's relatively quick appointment was speculated to have been related to accusations that the diocese's
interim administrator had blessed
same-sex unions. Cordileone was installed on May 5, 2009, at the
Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland. In September 2009, Cordileone offered a
Pontifical High Mass (in
Latin,
Missa Pontificalis) at Saint Margaret Mary Church in Oakland. This was the first time a
Tridentine Pontifical High Mass was offered in
Northern California after the liturgical changes that followed the
Second Vatican Council were finalized in 1969. From 2011 to 2017, Cordileone served as chair of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, working against the legalization of
same-sex marriage. The USCCB described his mission as preserving the definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman. In a June 2012
EWTN News interview, Cordileone stated that redefining marriage to include LGBTQ couples would be bad for children, detrimental to society and dangerous for
religious freedom.
Archbishop of San Francisco On July 27, 2012, Benedict XVI named Cordileone as archbishop of San Francisco. The appointment of Cordileone, and the acceptance of the resignation of his predecessor, Archbishop
George Niederauer, were both announced on July 27 in Washington, D.C., by Archbishop
Carlo Maria Viganò,
papal and
apostolic nuncio to the United States. Cordileone was installed on October 4, 2012, at the
Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco.
Drunk driving offense Shortly before his installation as archbishop, on August 26, 2012, Cordileone was arrested for
driving under the influence of alcohol at a police checkpoint in San Diego. His mother and a visiting priest from Germany were with him in the car. The arresting officer said that Cordileone "was a driver that was obviously impaired but he was quite cordial and polite throughout. He was not a belligerent drunk at all." Cordileone spent the night in police custody, then was released the next day. In a statement, he apologized and asked forgiveness. Cordileone was scheduled to appear in court on a
misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. However, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of
reckless driving. Cordileone was subsequently sentenced to three years of
probation and ordered to pay a fine. The court also required him to attend a
Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim-impact panel and participate in a three-month first conviction program through the
California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Call for replacement In February 2015, Cordileone told archdiocesan school teachers that they were expected to conduct their public lives in a way that did not undermine or deny Catholic doctrine. Democratic California State Assemblyman
Phil Ting of San Francisco and
Kevin Mullin of San Mateo immediately wrote a letter of protest to Cordileone. It was signed by every lawmaker representing the communities served by the four Catholic high schools in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties. The letter urged Cordileone to withdraw what they called "discriminatory morality clauses". Cordileone responded to the letter, saying he "respects the lawmakers' right to hire whoever may advance their mission and that he is asking for the same respect". In April 2015, over 100 Catholic donors and church members from the Bay Area signed a full-page advertisement in the
San Francisco Chronicle, appealing to
Pope Francis to replace Cordileone as archbishop. The ad specifically objected to Cordileone's characterization of
extramarital sex and LGBTQ relationships as "gravely evil", saying that he fostered "...an atmosphere of division and intolerance". The archdiocese responded that the advertisement was a "misrepresentation of the spirit of the archbishop" and that the signers did not speak for Bay Area Catholics. An opinion piece in
San Mateo Daily Journal characterized the supporters of the advertisement as "dissidents". The archdiocese reported receiving 7,500 letters of support from around the world. A picnic in support of Cordileone was organized in May 2015 at
Sue Bierman Park in San Francisco, with hundreds of people in attendance.
Chair of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth In November 2018, the USCCB General Assembly in Baltimore elected the chair of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth. The voting was tied between Archbishop
Charles Chaput of Philadelphia and Bishop
John Doerfler of Marquette, each receiving 125 votes. Following the USCCB rules, Cordileone was then appointed chair because he was the senior bishop on the committee. ==Viewpoints==