UPDATED AGAIN – see bold directly below.
SAN FRANCISCO
The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Episcopal Bishop of California and an invited guest for the installation of Archbishop-designate Salvatore Cordileone, was not allowed to be seated. He was escorted to a basement room at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral and detained by an usher until the time the service began, whereupon Bishop Andrus left the cathedral.
More information will be forthcoming as it is available.UPDATED 10/5/12 7:33 a.m. (Pacific)
Bishop Marc has written to clarify his experience of being detained before Archbishop Cordileone’s installation yesterday. Bishop Marc was not late and arrived earlier than he had been directed. He was with other ecumenical guests before the service, all of whom were seated while he waited. Read more here (click here).
See our previous post, Bishop Andrus has a few thoughts on his new Catholic counterpart
Update – 9:47 PM eastern
Interfaith tensions over the marriage issue threatened to mar the Cordileone’s day. The Rev. Marc Andrus, the Episcopal bishop for Northern California and a strong same-sex marriage supporter, reported that he was snubbed when he showed up for the cathedral service, which came three days after Andrus had written an open letter offering a spiritual home to any Catholics who felt disowned by the archbishop’s views.
Andrus said he was taken to a basement room with other invited guests, then left waiting as ushers showed everyone but him to their seats in the sanctuary, Joseph Mathews, an Episcopal spokesman said. He was still waiting when the mass had started, so he left, Mathews said.
San Francisco Archdiocese spokesman George Wesolek chalked it up to a misunderstanding. Andrus had arrived late and missed the procession of interfaith clergy who were to be seated up front. Church staff were looking for an opportunity to bring the bishop in without disrupting the service, according to Wesolek. When they went to retrieve him, he had already left.
“We had no intention of excluding him at all,” Wesolek said. “If he felt like because of the wait that was insulting to him, we certainly will apologize.”
Update – Friday, 7:49AM
Bay Area Reporter (reporting Thursday night on its request for information)
George Wesolek, communications director for the archdiocese, told the Bay Area Reporter late Thursday afternoon that he did not know about the Andrus incident.
“I don’t know anything about that,” he said, adding that he should have more information Friday.
Of course Wesolek was able to issue his release last night.
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I wonder if the Archdiocese was aiming for a lesser humiliation - something like making Bishop Andrus cool his heels and miss the procession, then quietly slip him into the sanctuary.
Wow.
Malice caused by stupidity.
I retract my earlier comment, with apologies to the Cathedral Ushers, who (apparently) are less incompetent than I would normally suspect.
"Perhaps if Marc Andrus had been polite enough to arrive on time he could have been seated with the other interfaith clergy."
Dennis Bosley
Bishop Marc states that he was indeed on time, in fact early and that he spoke with other invited guests, after which they, without him, were escorted to their seats.
Would you like to try again Mr. Bosley?
Bro David
I've just updated the post again with the information I've just found that statement that Andrus "was not late and arrived earlier than he had been directed. He was with other ecumenical guests before the service, all of whom were seated while he waited. ". The previous two commenters did not have the benefit of that addition.
Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity.
I mean, really, people- have you ever met a group of Catholic ushers bright enough to take part in this sort of conspiracy?