San Francisco Archbishop-elect Arrested for DUI Over the Weekend

The archbishop-elect of the San Francisco Roman Catholic Archdiocese was arrested early Saturday morning at a DUI checkpoint.

Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, 57, was stopped just after midnight at a sobriety checkpoint near San Diego University.

“While visiting in San Diego this past weekend, I had dinner at the home of some of my friends along with a priest friend from outside the country, and my mother who lives near San Diego University,” Cordileone said, “While driving my mother home, I drove through a DUI checkpoint the police had set up near the SDSU campus before I reached her home, and was found to be over the legal limit in California.”

In California like most states the legal limit is .08. It takes a surprisingly small amount of alcohol to have a BAC over the legal limit.

Cordileone was arrested and posted bond the next day. It is likely that he won’t have a severe penalty as this appears to be his first DUI charge.

He was chosen to be the Archbishop of San Francisco and was due to be installed in October, and was viewed as a controversial choice for San Francisco because of his anti-gay stance.

The archbishop took the opportunity to apologize for his behavior, “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.”

Cordileone’s appointment won’t necessarily be delayed since Catholic bishops answer directly to the pope.

On or around major holidays police across the country set up DUI checkpoints to keep the roads safe.

A DUI is a charge that should be taken seriously and the offender is advised to retain a DUI lawyer to help them develop a defense strategy or negotiate for a plea bargain to minimize the risk of getting a tough penalty.