Imagine: A Catholic archbishop!

Poor Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone – he can't win for losing.

Then again, his big problem is that he's Roman Catholic, and the archdiocese he leads is in San Francisco.

For some reason, the dedicated liberals in the City of St. Francis seem to think that if they don't like any of the religious principles of the Roman Catholic Church, it is their right and duty to speak out, to insult, to harangue and to try to force the Church to change – just to suit them.

If it weren't so predictable, it would be infuriating, but because of that, it is infuriating to thinking people.

It's happening again as San Francisco drops the hammer – again – on the Catholic Church and especially Archbishop Cordileone.

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He's the target of the current brouhaha, and it all comes down to the current negotiation of the collective bargaining agreement with the teachers' union concerning the four high schools in the archdiocese.

Renegotiating takes place every three years, and this year, the archbishop has proposed that the new faculty handbook contain three clauses that further clarify the reason for Catholic schools and statements that specify Church teachings on sexual morality and religious practice.

According to the archdiocese, the handbook additions aren't part of the teachers' contract and teachers are not required to sign on to them, do not apply to their private lives and there are no morality clauses but participation in defined immoral activities in public is not allowed.

The purpose is to clarify Church teachings so that all teachers will be speaking from the same base of fundamental truths as they work with students. The goal is to properly teach students Catholic doctrine and be a good example and to form them in their faith.

In other words, no handing out condoms, no escorts to abortion clinics, no gay marriage and other public violations of Catholic beliefs and teachings.

In fact, everything the handbook mentions is traditional Catholic moral teaching from the Catechism.

Nevertheless, as soon as it was seen that the handbook mentioned the "evil" of adultery, masturbation, sex outside of marriage, pornography and homosexual relations and other issues – San Francisco media went wild!

What's left of talk radio in the city (mostly lib hosts) was foaming at the mouth, disparaging the clergy, the Church and good Catholics.

What's left of newspapers in the city did the same, from editorials to commentary, many with demands that Archbishop Cordileone doesn't represent the people of San Francisco so it's time for him to get out.

In one local news story I heard, the reporter summarized the issue, talked to a student at one school who lamented the "attempt to control" how students think, and then he talked to a man who spoke of his daughter and his concerns about her and that the issue also disturbed his husband.

How convenient, to interview a gay man. Couldn't the reporter find any straight, Catholic men or women for a reaction?

Balanced news, anyone? Not in San Francisco; they don't even try.

Then came the organized protests: vigils outside the Cathedral in San Francisco and at local churches, candlelight marches and demonstrations and claims of human rights violations, petitions and social media efforts.

Then, of course, this being San Francisco, politicians got involved.

Five state assemblymen and three state senators – all Democrats – wrote to the archbishop with their concerns and desire to have the issue dropped.

They called the clauses tools for discrimination that infringe on personal freedom, are divisive and a "stark contrast to the values that define the Bay Area."

The response from Cordileone is a classic in understatement.

He asked if they would hire a campaign manager who advocated policies contrary to their beliefs, who disrespected them and the Democratic Party.

What if they found a brilliant GOP manager who would work for Democrats without disparaging them – would that be OK?

But if that person started badmouthing the Democrats, would he be fired?

The last line in the Archbishop's letter was:

My point is: I respect your right to employ or not employ whomever you wish to advance your mission. I simply ask the same respect from you.

It's a classy response from a classy man.

Before his posting to San Francisco, Cordileone was bishop of Oakland, across the Bay.

His reputation was one of traditional Catholicism – how odd, a man of the cloth following the tenets of his church.

In fact, I was curious about him and invited him to be a guest on my talk-radio program on KSFO.

I was delighted when he agreed and even more so, when he said he wanted to come into our San Francisco studio for an in-person interview.

He did, for a full hour. The interview was most enlightening, and he handled listener calls with great skill.

I found him to be forthright, honest, clear in his beliefs and more than willing to respond to criticism of Catholicism.

I've met many Catholic clerics over the years but quite honestly, never one so forthright and clear in stating his position, that of the Church and the difficulties of dealing with a media biased against him.

He was first blasted in the Bay Area for opposing gay marriage and his support of Proposition 8, outlawing it.

He was verbally pilloried on talk radio in San Francisco. The usual critics were hosts who continually bleat that they are Roman Catholic but don't buy what the Church teaches.

They're the typical "cafeteria Catholics" who pick and choose and sound like toddlers throwing tantrums and insults.

Someone we always hear from is Rep. Nancy Pelosi. San Francisco is her home territory. She claims to be a "good" Catholic, and yet she supports abortion, gay marriage, the homosexual lifestyle and any other of the issues that are part of her voting base. She's a typical San Francisco lib.

At this point, it's a standoff, but the archdiocese holds all the aces. Their schools are private and Church run. Politicians have no business interfering, and anyone who doesn't like what they teach is invited to go to public schools.

It's free country.

So far.

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