The Roman Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence, San Diego police said Monday.
The Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, a vigorous supporter of California’s same-sex marriage ban, was taken into custody after being stopped early Saturday at a police checkpoint near the San Diego State University campus, said Detective Gary Hassen, a police spokesman. He declined to comment on whether Cordileone took a sobriety test or reveal his blood-alcohol content.
Read the full AP report here.
UPDATE: Archbishop-elect Cordileone has apologized for his “error in judgment”:
“I apologize for my error in judgment and feel shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself. I will repay my debt to society and I ask forgiveness from my family and my friends and co-workers at the Diocese of Oakland and the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Archbishop Cordileone said in an Aug. 27 statement provided to EWTN News.
“I pray that God, in His inscrutable wisdom, will bring some good out of this,” he added.
According to the future San Francisco archbishop, the incident occurred after he had dinner in San Diego with some of his friends and a priest friend who was visiting from overseas.
His mother, who lives near San Diego State University, was also at the dinner. While the archbishop was driving his mother to her house, which is located near San Diego State University, he passed through a DUI checkpoint the police had set up.
The police found Archbishop Cordileone to be over California’s legal blood alcohol level and he was taken to the county jail. The legal blood alcohol limit for California is 0.08 percent.
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