San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, whose post may be in jeopardy, is the focus of criticism for two reasons.
First, he had some church staff members sign statements condemning homosexual conduct. Then he instructed teachers and staff at Catholic high schools to stick with church teachings and not publicly condemn them.
Frank Pavone of Priests for Life says that's nothing new: Jesus was harshly treated for sticking with the program, too.
Pavone, Father Frank (Priests for Life)"Some people are going to object, some are going to rebel," says Pavone. "And they're going to say the same thing that they said in biblical times, which is, We are offended, we are upset."
Some were so upset in San Francisco that about 100 church members, including wealthy donors, took out a full-page newspaper ad addressed to the pope.
The San Francsico Chronicle reported that prominent Catholics are asking Pope Francis to replace Cordileone for his "emphasis on traditional, conservative church doctrine."
“The crux of our worry is that the faithful are going to become very disenchanted and stop going to church because they don’t like the message, and the message is not the way they lead their lives,” one signer told the newspaper.
"These people are saying, Oh, he's being judgmental, he's not being tolerant, he's not being accepting," Pavone observes. "Well, what he's being is faithful and they can't tolerate that for one reason or another, so that's the crux of the issue."
If the people behind the ad are upset, says Pavone, it should be with clergy who are not adhering to the Bible.