Prop. 8 divides Bay Area Catholics

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Matthai Kuruvila, Chronicle Religion Writer
Saturday, November 22, 2008

(11-21) 18:06 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Catholics played a pivotal role in the success of Proposition 8, from pulpits down to the pews. Bishops lobbied for its passage, priests preached about it, and laypeople overwhelmingly voted for it.

Yet not all have been joyful in Bay Area parishes.

The Bay Area has a large and vibrant gay Catholic community, and they have many allies among straight Catholics. So it has led some to question how the region's dioceses, which include myriad diverse groups, could be opposed to what many view as secular rights.

"It makes me very, very, very disenchanted with the Archdiocese (of San Francisco) as an institution," said Kevin Sullivan, 50, who said the archdiocese brought him back to the faith of his childhood. "It's very frustrating to be a gay Catholic and to have to apologize to everyone I know about Proposition 8."

The demographics of the Bay Area are not so unlike those of other urban dioceses around the nation - their politics lean much further left than the church's teaching. But the recent election has brought that tension to the fore over issues that reach beyond Prop. 8.

In September, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, a Catholic, was rebuked by bishops around the nation for saying the church hasn't always preached that life begins at conception; the bishops said that has always been the belief. And the Bay Area, which has a number of gay-friendly parishes, as a whole voted against Prop. 8 despite the position of area bishops.
A strong alliance

For many Catholics who voted no on the measure, it was particularly painful that San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer, the former bishop of Salt Lake City, played a pivotal role in bringing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into the Prop. 8 battle. The alliance had a powerful effect on the election - Mormons contributed up to half of the $40 million raised to support the measure.

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Uncomfortable atmosphere

Some believe the politicization of churches creates an atmosphere that's far from sacred.

At Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Fairfield, the Rev. Sebastian Meyer used the church to stage Yes on 8 efforts, such as handing out lawn signs. After the election, he publicly chastised a parishioner for having a car decorated with Obama signs.

"I don't even care who Obama is," Meyer said, according to Elizabeth Caster, the parishioner whose car was singled out. "We can't have stuff like that here."

Caster, 39, told The Chronicle she was humiliated and felt chased out of the church because of her views. The Diocese of Sacramento confirmed her account. Meyer, who declined comment to The Chronicle, wrote her a letter of apology this week.

Joanne Smith, who attends the church with her father, said Meyer politicized the church through Prop. 8 advocacy yet couldn't tolerate dissenting views.

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Elizabeth Caster and her son Ben Caster, 10, of Fairfield, Calif., stand in front of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church in Fairfield on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008. After she and Ben arrived for services on Sunday, Nov. 9, she was asked by church officials to remove the car, which had the pictured pro-Obama slogans on it, from the church parking lot (Kim Komenich / The Chronicle)

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