S.F. March Protests Same-Sex Marriages

Catholic opponents of gay marriage led by San Francisco’s archbishop held a prayer march Saturday, criticizing city officials who have licensed thousands of same-sex weddings and calling for a federal amendment to ban the unions.

A crowd of about 1,000 celebrated morning Mass at Sts. Peter and Paul Church with Archbishop William J. Levada and afterward held a rally that was frequently interrupted by counter-protesters who screamed “Shame!” and “Equal rights!”

Carrying rosaries and chanting prayers, the opponents marched and held signs with pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

“Marriage is between a man and a woman,” said Madeleine Veneklase, 44, of Napa, who is pregnant with her fifth child. “That’s how God made us and that’s the way to true happiness in a relationship.”

San Francisco received worldwide attention earlier this year when Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized city officials to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Nearly 4,000 couples were married here between Feb. 12 and March 11, when the California Supreme Court suspended the policy pending legal challenges.

“In the long term what Newsom did is irrelevant because it doesn’t have any logic and won’t stand,” said marcher Tom Greerty, 57, of Martinez.

Newsom spokesman Peter Ragone said Saturday that the Catholic mayor has respectful disagreements with the church.

“Some Catholics disagree with the mayor but there has been overwhelming support for ending discrimination against same-sex couples in Northern California,” Ragone said.

Ron Schmidt, 67, a former Catholic seminarian who said his faith led him to hide his homosexuality, said, “I’m deeply offended by this. This is a church that is rife with corruption that is trying to stop us from loving who we want to love.”

San Francisco police monitored the march.