@Mike Mason
Hey Mike, I notice you posted this identical comment “word for word” on several web sites.  Is this just you trying to pass off an innuendo across the web, or are you part of an organization?
-
I also noticed that Richard Snipe, who you note wrote a book, has a web site too - http://www.richardsipe.com/  This. site is of course filled with what I would interpret as extreme articles and statements.

@ K.C. Thomas. The virtue of temperance applied to alcohol does not normally mean abstinence, although anyone who wishes to is free to practice teetotalism. The virtue is in being able to control one’s desire for this kind of pleasure so one only wills the act which gives the pleasure to the extent that right reason gives the permission.

Is. It so difficult for those who have dedicated their lives to the CHurch and GOd to abstain from drinking ?  If they do not believe in ” controls” ,then anything is possible.   
Pleasures of food drinks, sexual reading, sex are to be controlled by every Christian who believes in Christ. Who. Never indulged in all pleasures.    We. Are weak,but our attitude should be trying to be strong.

I think that those who are defending the Archbisop’s drinking are doing so because they themselves drink and drive and don’t want to have things said about someone who is a drinker.  One glass with dinner is one thing along with not jumping in the car for several hours but MOST people who drink at a dinner party do NOT stop at one glass.  The most HOLY Priests and religious I have known either DO NOT DRINK AT ALL or if they drink for a social event they have not more than 1 glass and they do NOT drive after drinking.
I have known so MANY peole who have been stopped for drinking and driving and even those who have hurt or killed others by disobeying the law on this that as GOOD CATHOLICS we should exhibit control and either abstain altogether or at LEAST obey the laws of the land which in THIS CASE is to protect others and yourself.
Let us pray that this incident WAKES UP a LOT of others to change their way of living.

Lots of you seem to minimize the irresponsibility of the bishop.

His mother admitted “he loved his wine and they kept filling his glass and filling his glass”. 

Check out a site like http://www.factsontap.org/factsontap/naked_truth/blood_alcohol_levels.htm and it will tell you that a person can process about a drink per hour, and for a 160 lb guy to have a .08, he had to have had 3 drinks more per hour than that.  worse yet, it wasn’t like he stopped dinking just before he was tested. 

If he stopped drinking an hour before he left, and it took another hour to process him and get his blood alcohol taken, then he was 5 drinks over what he should have been, but it was at least 4.

If he is a regular drinker, or an alcoholic, he can probably function and drive better than those who aren’t.  If he is not, then his ability to drive while intoxicated is even worse.

This is one of your Catholic leaders, and they continue to drop the standard of decency and exhibit shame in God’s name.  however, those who defend him sure feel better about their own crimes and sins.

One does not get to a .08 blood alcohol reading with only two alcholic drinks.  Period.  People who claim that are repeating an urban legend.

.08 is a significant amount of alcohol.  I am shocked at the comments here that claim it is not a big deal.  The reason the presumptive limit was moved down to .08 instead of .10 years ago is because .08 is enough to affect the driver’s reactions and get people killed.

Ave Maria…............Beautiful attitude!!

I sincerely apologize to anyone/eveyrone I may have offended with my earlier remarks.  Many persons have made some astute observations and excellent points.  The truth is this: I’m what’s wrong with the Church.  Instead of making ridiculous remarks about a most unfortunate situation involving a member of the Catholic hierarchy, I should be praying for each and every one of our priests and bishops, who so desperately need our prayers in these troubled times.  Let us all pray for each other, forgive in imitation of our Lord, and beg Almighty God for the grace we all need to carry out His Divine Will in our lives.

If you’ve ever met this man, you will find that he is the most humble person. No pomp and circumstances surrounding him, so definitely no drivers and entourage.  I am saddenned by the news and know that he will be attacked for this.  He has my prayers, always.

I would doubt that the good Archbishop elect has “homosexual problems” as well, but I do believe he has some problem with his drinking.  That would impair his priestly duties as well as his hierarchal duties.  I do hope that it is not too late, if he does have a problem with his drinking, to understand to what degree and to get him into rehab if its bad.  Priests and Bishops after all, are frail just as we are, and are probably tempted far more than we are too, so he needs our prayers.  If the Vatican investigates this, I do hope that his new assignment won’t be a problem.  I imagine that the far left especially in Frisco are jumping with joy over this news, and may possibly impede his respect from hostile religious people there.  Lets pray for intercessions through Mary Immaculate and St. Michael.

Hopefully, the honorable Archbishop-designate will decide abstinence from drinking - along with prayer - is best.  As manufacturers of our number one drug, the alcohol industry spends $billions to convince us that it is a necessary part of social life.  Nothing could be further from the truth - it is destroying us.

Should he desire official Catholic support, he can turn to the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association ( http://www.PioneerAssociation.ie ) dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  They have a world-wide network based in Ireland - where alcohol and drugs are an extreme problem.  The membership pledge is to give up drinking whether addicted or not for the greater glory of God, for the conversion of sinners, to be good examples, and for reparation for sins of intemperance (alcohol abuse).  As they say: “The Pioneer by abstaining from alcohol, which like all of God’s gifts should not be abused, is forgoing one of life’s pleasures and therefore dying to self for the greater good.”

He may want to try out the prayer they say twice daily: “For Thy greater glory and consolation, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for Thy sake to give good example, to practise self-denial, to make reparation to Thee for the sins of intemperance, and for the conversion of excessive drinkers, I will abstain for life from all intoxicating drinks. AMEN”  (Unlike many pledges, failure is not an obstacle due to the Sacred Heart being involved.)

For those who are hurt by abuse of alcohol, turning to the love of Christ and His Sacred Heart is what gives most people comfort.  The discipline of personal sacrifice (abstinence and prayer) along with consolation and love from the eternal Catholic Church will not let him down!

Hopefully, the honorable Archbishop-designate will decide abstinence from drinking - along with prayer - is best.  As manufacturers of our number one drug, the alcohol industry spends $billions to convince us that it is a necessary part of social life.  Nothing could be further from the truth - it is destroying us.

Should he desire official Catholic support, he can turn to the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association ( http://www.PioneerAssociation.ie ) dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  They have a world-wide network based in Ireland - where alcohol and drugs are an extreme problem.  The membership pledge is to give up drinking whether addicted or not for the greater glory of God, for the conversion of sinners, to be good examples, and for reparation for sins of intemperance (alcohol abuse).  As they say: “The Pioneer by abstaining from alcohol, which like all of God’s gifts should not be abused, is forgoing one of life’s pleasures and therefore dying to self for the greater good.”

He may want to try out the prayer they say twice daily: “For Thy greater glory and consolation, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for Thy sake to give good example, to practise self-denial, to make reparation to Thee for the sins of intemperance, and for the conversion of excessive drinkers, I will abstain for life from all intoxicating drinks. AMEN”  (Unlike many pledges, failure is not an obstacle due to the Sacred Heart being involved.)

For those who are hurt by abuse of alcohol, turning to the love of Christ and His Sacred Heart is what gives most people comfort.  The discipline of personal sacrifice (abstinence and prayer) along with consolation and love from the eternal Catholic Church will not let him down!

I think at this point, such speculation by Mike Mason at 9:39 a.m. is wildly irresponsible and unfounded.

@mike mason

Practice some basic charity, you are seriously defaming the reputation of a bishop of the Church. It is shocking that so many here are greatly scandalized by this story. It is reasonable and expected that this story caused a little scandal. But seriously, how are words such as ‘alcoholic’ or ‘shocked’ finding their way on this thread? A .08 alcohol percentage is a couple glasses of wine at dinner! Legal impairment and actual impairment are two different things. We should give the good bishop the benefit of the doubt and recognize that he probably had the average amount of wine over a long dinner, and unfortunately was caught by a law that is far too extreme and does recognize the vast gray area in alcohol consumption and its effects.

St. Paul said that “a bishop must be above reproach” (1 Tim 3:2). Bishop Cordileone is no longer above reproach, so the only proper action for him to take is to decline his appointment. Please stop making excuses for him. Yes, he is forgiven. Yes, he can still do great things for God’s kingdom, but according to sacred scripture, he is no longer qualified to shepherd a see. Go back to your apostolic roots. Read your bible. Read the ante-Nicene fathers. One thing the early fathers did not tolerate was even the appearance of impropriety among leaders in the church. Bishop Cordileone is a good man and he served the church well, but he blew it. I don’t think it is too much of a sacrifice to ask of our spiritual leaders that they refrain from drinking alcohol within several hours of when they will be driving a car.

I realize DUI does not necessary mean one is an alcoholic…but Robert Sipe in his book A Secret World says “Over 50 percent of the clergy who are treated for severe alcohol problems have some homosexual concerns”…so perhaps Archbishop-elect Salvatore Cordileone has some homosexual concerns he has not spoke about in public!

Bishop Cordileone’s mother went on TV today saying that she holds herself accountable for what happened, saying that their hosts “kept refilling his glass,” but she didn’t tell him to stop drinking. At 56, shouldn’t he be taking this responsibility himself?  And yes, I hear what some of you are saying about how he probably wasn’t “too impaired” - but as anyone who has lost someone because they or another driver was “just a little impaired” - any DUI is too much DUI. And for the future Archbishop in such a critical position, it’s an especially serious transgression.

I will keep him in my prayers. I hope he gets the help he needs, and that God’s will be done, which may or may not be the Bishop’s will or my will or any of your wills. This isn’t something to be brushed off as trivia, and would we be doing so if this were a different bishop with different views?

The Catholic apologies and explanations in the comments make one sick:

- change the draconian laws?
- drinking a few is fine?
- drinking and driving are ok if you are driving mom home?
- a perk is that the parishioners pay your legal fees?
- he has so much pressure on him?

Catholic priests and bishops have really dropped the standards of Catholics.

No one said the Archbishop was intoxicated.  And it was not said that the Archbishop was driving dangerously at all…he might have had a glass or two of wine with dinner - how many of us have a couple of glasses of wine with dinner with friends and then drive home?  A couple of glasses of wine does not make one drunk…although it may register differently according to different people’s chemical make up, height and weight, etc. Remember, the Archbishop is the sworn enemy of the pro-gay marriage and the anti-life crowd…from now on, he should have a driver wherever he goes. Just to be prudent.

Aug. 28th…some of the reports make it sound as if the Archbishop was driving crazily and was sloppy drunk…he probably had a few drinks with family and friends - he was driving his mother home.  Imprudent, perhaps, but not the scandal the press makes it out to be.

If the bishop is guilty of having “one too many,” then I think with God’s grace he will weather it fine, and may be a great archbishop of San Francisco. But if it turns out he had four or five too many—then there will be serious repercussions as to whether he’ll be allowed to assume leadership of the archdiocese or if so, whether he’ll be able to govern credibly and effectively. Frankly, I’m concerned about an interview which the bishop’s mother Mary gave to reporter Jeff Zevely of San Diego’s KFMB Television. She said—on camera—that she was blaming herself for what had happened, because on the night of the party she did nothing to prevent her son from drinking too much. She said, “he loved his wine and they kept filling his glass and filling his glass..” She said she didn’t speak up at the time because she didn’t want to be meddlesome, but now considered that a mistake. Clearly from her demeanor, she was feeling very guilty—and had obviously been disturbed by her son’s level of consumption. The whole interview by his mom and her demeanor just gave me a sinking feeling inside. Why did she believe she should have stopped her son’s drinking that night—unless PERHAPS she’d had prior experience with him abusing liquor? It seems eerily like the typical guilt and self-reproach felt by family members of abusive drinkers—always blaming themselves for what is the other person’s fault. After all, if this had NEVER happened to him before, then how could you possibly anticipate it happening as a family member? How could you say “I should have known better” if he’d NEVER had too many drinks before? The reporter also said that police arrested the bishop after he failed a field sobriety test. In other words, the liquor had impaired his coordination. There are a lot of reporters who’ll be doing a lot of digging on this. If it comes out that the bishop was three sheets in the wind that night (and especially if questions of chronic substance abuse are raised), then there will be big problems—and we’d better be prepared for whatever God’s will holds. Let us pray that the truth will out—and that the one whom God wants to lead the archdiocese (whether Cordileone or someone else) will lead it. If the Father Corapi episode has taught us anything, is that sometimes the truth about someone is NOT what we want to hear. I hope that’s not the case now—but I’m just not sure that we’ve heard the whole story yet—and that bothers me.

Let us not make excuses.  Anybody who has been involved in a BAC or Breathalyzer demonstration knows it takes a lot of booze to move that needle up to.08.  Let us not make excuses about “not weaving all over the road.”  Let us not make excuses about being under a lot of pressure.

Every affected driver in the history of the universe says “I only had two drinks.”

I think we really need to pray for him Hopefully, he will learn from this experience and not drink and drive or preferably, begin going to AA meetings “just in case”.  The evil forces are at work here for sure, and are trying their best to keep him from leading the San Francisco diocese.  Sadly enough, I have known priests that have gone this route, and were alcoholics and had to go into rehab.  I hope that this isn’t the case here, and that perhaps the police were being a little too eager to pull him over.  We really need bishops like him especially at this time.

I am more than willing to accept your apology and forgive you Bishop Cordileone. Although there are a lot of variables in DUI if the law saves just one life it is worth it and I am sure you agree. I am saddened that you were arrested for your offense and hope it was not an attack on a Church member, but just a police officer doing his/her job.  We all need to consider the risks when we go out to dinner, and make appropriate arrangements for carefree socializing.  Considering the task you have been given, especially the intolerance of some of the people in the city you are assigned to shepherd, please do not be discouraged if you are reassigned.  God knows your heart and has a plan for you.

I’m with Clare Polansky on this and second all her comments.  Bishop - soon to be installed an Archbishop - Salvatore Cordileone is not a stupid man.  He will learn from this and grow in it.  His spirituality will likely undergo growth in Christ from this incident.  In fact, I would not be surprised if he may realize a special vocation working with and being a part of and encouraging Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as a result of this incident.  After all, the Twelve Steps of AA are profoundly Christian-based.  Lots of good things can happen, one of which is a very humble Archbishop.  Let us pray - all of us - for Archbishop-designate Cordileone just as we pray for our various Bishops and for all people, expecially all DUI arrestees and for the members of AA.  Prayer is very powerful, and God is known to have raised people such as St. Augustine and St. Francis of Assisi from the dissipation of their youth to holiness.  Prayer has great power.

One of the perks of being a Catholic Bishop is that the Church will pay your legal fees—out of the pockets of the parishioners under their \“see.\” He has nothing to worry about.

Yeah, it’s embarrassing, but he was stopped at a routine checkpoint, not for weaving all over the road.

No one should drive under the influence, but neither should they drive in a state of fatigue or with distractions in the car. I am sure we have all had experiences where a driver who has had a moderate amount of alcohol controls a vehicle more competently than a totally sober person who is fiddling with a cell phone or who just drives aggressively.

Having alcohol in one’s system doesn’t automatically make one a bad driver—ti’s how much and how it affects the person that counts.

I would bet if checkpoints were set up outside wedding receptions or business conventions, a lot of people would be under arrest.

These Bishops have to be under an enormous amount of pressure. He just got sent to San Diego of all places, and he is in charge of the USCCB committee on marriage. Think about it. That’s a tall order. Pray for this shepherd. He messed up and he admitted it. No one said the Bishops were without sin.

First off, I’m sorry to read this. He apologized immediately which is good. I also agree with those who say he should have a driver.

@Thien, I agree with you on the media coverage!

Good grief.  What a monumental act of stupidity.  The libs in SF will have a field day with this.  We who support traditional values in the Church have to be incredibly careful not to give the left ammunition to use against us.

Give him a break. He almost certainly was not drunk. And from what I understand, he is exactly what that crazy diocesse needs.

We have asked our priests to be the defenders of truth. They are the ones who are on the cross. We need to pray for him and all priests because Satan is doing his best to lead them away from the Truth.  Where are the prayers and sacrafices for our priests?

An Archbishop????  Seriously????  A huge disappointment!!!  Thank God he got stopped!  If he drove through it without stopping, imagine the damage he could have done had he not been stopped!!!!  I am satisfied with his sincere apology and claiming of ownership on this…I hope his current flock and new one look beyond it…

Oakland Bishop Salvatore Coridileone has now spent more time in jail (12-hours for alleged DUI) than Jesuit Fr. Jerold Lindner of Los Gatos, California. The Jesuit Order has paid $3 million to settle sex abuse lawsuits naming Fr. Lindner.

Only God knows what pressures he is under. However, drinking is not a way to deal with it.  Maybe he should spend more time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
God have mercy on us all!

In addition to apologizing, the bishop needs to resign. The last thing the church needs now is another scandal, and this one would be a doozy. Yes, everyone makes mistakes, and yes, God forgives, but an “error” of this magnitude among one of the church’s shepherds requires strict and immediate action. He could have killed someone.

What self-respecting Catholic bishop is driving himself anywhere to begin with? That’s what deacons are for.

It’s wrong to be intoxicated and drive.  We thank God that no injury or accidents occur as the result of this.

If this was some politician or Hollywood star with a 0.08BAC, it would never make it to the news…  However, b/c the driver happens to be a Catholic bishop, therefore it becomes a big deal.  Media bias is at best.

I will pray for the Archbishop elect.  Maybe the good that will come out of this is for our leadership and religious and anyone working for the church to realize that we need to live up to a higher standard.  Social drinking even with dinner and driving does NOT mix.  I stopped drinking when I became Catholic and started teaching CCD.  Why?  Because I am an example for others and I would NEVER want a child seeing me drink and thinking “well it’s OK for Ms Elizabeth so I’ll drink too when I get to the drinking age.” and then to have that child be a person who cannot control what they do. 
I have actually called our pastor one time when a new parishoner’s son was in the hospital dying and he could not come to help because he’d been out to dinner drinking (at least he knew not to drive!).  That showed me that when God tell us to PRAY without Ceasing that if we are tippsy or groggy then how can we really be ready to pray?
The Religious give up many things to serve God, Chastity, Poverty and Obedience, among some…..maybe we need to think about giving up drinking for the Good of the Church and the Good of others?
THEN no matter WHAT time of NIGHT or DAY we will be READY TO SERVE GOD!

Archbishop has apologized so let’s not judge him. He is an excellent Bishop with a very difficult and dangerous assignment ahead of him. The Archbishop will do fine but as someone said in another comment he needs to protect himself and have always trusted people around him in a such hostile environment. Let’s pray for him and that this incident will be soon forgotten. God is love.

I am shocked and disappointed to see so many good Catholics taking shots at Archbishop-elect Cordileone.  He is mortal, like all of us, and prone to mistakes,  just like all of us.  Our priests are already under attack from so many corners of our decaying society.  Why should we join that chorus?  This man has been hand-picked for one of the toughest assignments in the Church: Archbishop of San Francisco.  The evil one, in collaboration with the enemies of the Church, are already looking for every opportunity to embarrass or thwart him.  So give Bishop Cordileone a break.  Maybe we could all spend a little more time praying for our bishops, and less time criticizing them.

He was out to dinner with his mom according to his statement and was driving her home.  Next time, if she’s sober, he’ll let her drive. There is a calculator on-line into which you can put your weight and the number of drinks over time to find out what your own drink limit should be, if you decide to drink and drive. http://www.ou.edu/oupd/bac.htm

OMG he is HUMAN!  What next?

Dear Bishop Cordileone:  We accept your apology, and please know that we still love you very much and continue to support you.  May God bless you and guide you.  You are in my prayers every morning.  Sincerely, Chris Mattson

Church leaders that want to be in major league MUST exercise self control and be squeaky clean. No exceptions.

Some of alcohol’s most pernicious and well-known effects are addiction, vomiting, diarrhea, sick headache, disorientation, memory loss, brain damage, osteoporosis, erectile dysfunction, birth defects, child abuse, crime, sexual exploitation and rape, heart and liver diseases, instant cell death, cancer, risky sexual behaviors leading to abortions and contraception practices, etc.  Alcohol is a by-product of cell metabolism (this can be compared to urine), and like tobacco was previously, is now prescribed by doctors for its “health benefits” (mainly due to Big Alcohol’s influence in promoting the presence of vitamins and nutritional components).  Let us ponder the fact that grape juice laced with Strychnine has the same “health benefits”.

And…“Designated Drivers” is an alcohol industry program devised so drinkers would feel empowered (“responsible”) when they act irresponsibly.  Putting the responsibility on someone else for their own and others’ welfare when they are not able to think right is considered to be a profit-making initiative.

The World Health Organization, sponsoring many alcohol-related studies in “Comparative Quantification of Health Risks” says: “Alcohol has long been known as a risk factor for disease.” ... “Intoxication is a powerful mediator, mainly for acute outcomes such as accidents, intentional injuries or deaths, domestic conflict and violence, although episodes of intoxication can also be implicated in chronic health and social problems.”

It is unconscionable that any Catholic would promote alcohol use by their example, especially an Archbishop!  Glad to hear he intends to repay his debt to society.  Catholic wedding witnesses are urged NOT TO DRINK before the wedding, on the premise that they would be bad witnesses if they did.  That tells me the Church itself has some hand in monitoring the use of alcohol and that it knows of the deterrent to right thinking.  The Archbishop needs to stop drinking alcohol.  Jesus made wine at Cana, and certainly we would drink that, but NOT the toxic stuff made today!

The bishop is human, ok? People don’t think twice about apeople who abort or those of other faiths being human. We should offering our prayers for our priests and leaders.

This incident points out that Catholic leaders of Archbishop-designate Cordileone’s stature should not be tooling around on his own like a private citizen but should always be accompanied by one or two “custodians,” one of which would always drive for him. This is prudence. It would have prevented him from this arrest and would also shield him from false morals accusations and keep him out of risky situations. Also in Cordileone’s case, he is going into the lion’s den in San Francisco and his very life will be in danger. He needs someone watching his back at all times.

Doesn’t an archbishop have a driver to take him around?

“Let him who is without sin cast the stone”.
May Abba our eternal father bring goodnews from this forgettable incident.

“You know what?  He probably had a few drinks and was just fine to drive.  Hopefully this incident brings some sensibility to draconian drunk driving laws that have ruined the lives of good men and women who drink socially and are just fine to drive home.” - I agree with this statement to a point - I’d be more likely to say, “Everything in moderation.” Moreover, isn’t it ironic that within a culture that promotes, advocates and funds the murdering of millions of innocent, pre-born children, a culture that beats us all over the head with their “progressive” philosophies of “tolerance” and “relativism,” this same culture becomes utterly “intolerant,” and certainly imposes an “absolute morality” when a Catholic clergyman is a few points over the “legal” limit (by the way, just who determines what that “legal” limit should be, considering the scientific reality that each person metabolizes alcohol differently depending upon such variables as weight, tolerance, stomach contents, etc.?). My point, simply, is that this scenario perfectly underscores the profound hypocrisy of BOTH our exceedingly liberal / socialistic culture AND the sentiment of clericalism, whereby many religious leaders of our own time, not unlike the religious leaders of Jesus’ era, “do not practice what they preach” (Mt 23:3). If there is a lesson to be learned from this, it is that no person or group of persons is beyond reproach, and that it would behoove everyone to take a good, long look in the mirror before they pull out their soapboxes, radar-guns, breathalizers, or step into their pulpits. 

It’s all fine and good to say that he was OK to drive, but we all know that drinking and driving are illegal.  This wasn’t some big surprise.  He should have just asked someone else to drive.  And in his position, he needs to be above reproach.

In my mind he’s all the more qualified to be the Archbishop of SF. Why? We know he’s not infallible and moreover, when he makes a mistake he can acknowledge it.

Let’s not get confused about what it means to be human: we are affected by original sin. But someone who lives in Christ, is able to acknowldege wrongdoing of any kind, ask forgiveness and seek to make reparation.  Now every Catholic must do the same.  The line for the confessional is already forming at your local parish.

He leads by example, not by modeling perfection. I think it was JPII who went to weekly confession.  My guess is that this was not an empty gesture of piety but that he had some sins to confess each time.

This is a case where one needs to recall the distinction of the moral law and the civil law. Morally, one commits sin when drunkenness is involved - venially if one’s reason and conscience is only partially compromised, mortally if one’s reason and conscience is seriously compromised. In this regard, the civil law is entirely irrational and wreaks of the pseudo-Puritan rigorism that led to the passing of the prohibition laws of the early 20th century. Go to the average family bbq or dinner and the average man will easily consume 6 12oz beers over 2 hours with food. He will hardly be drunk if affected at all. This is the amount that puts a 180lb man over the legal limit (.08) in most states. Let us not be led into great scandal here. His Excellency was probably drinking socially and while ‘legally impaired,’ probably didn’t violate the moral law. Honestly, American law and culture needs to grow up.

It doesn’t take as much to register .08 as some might think, and everyone is affected differently by alcohol. Medicine and medical conditions further affect the body’s ability to deal with alcohol. But he didn’t say any of that—he apologized for an error in judgment. Let’s pray for him, and not rush to judgment ourselves.

First response: concern for him. And awareness of the diabolic forces at work around him only fortifies my protectiveness of our new Shepherd. When the fox sneaks into the flock, maybe sometimes the sheep need to look out for the shepherd. The Evil One will do anything to keep him from his post. Maybe even get him to have just one more glass of wine…

We need to rally around him and support him, especially as he embarks on one of the toughest missions Rome could assign. He’s got a target on his back, and there are a lot of folks who want to see him go down. He needs people around him that will protect him from those dangerous forces, or maybe even protect him from himself if need be, for all our sakes. We need to pray for him. And whoever was serving that wine has some praying to do as well.

-And further, it is quite possible that he was barely over the very strict Calif. legal limit; and in another state he may not even have been arrested. He was at a checkpoint, not in the midst of an actual driving violation or accident. Perhaps he wasn’t even impaired enough to be unable to carry out his functions. We may never know all the facts, so lets not judge too hastily.

Hopefully your BA was not much above 0.08 and you now recognize when you have had too much to drive.  I am praying for you.

I can forgive, but seriously, what was he thinking?
AF Zamarro, “a few drinks” does not make one “fine to drive” - not blowing the legal blood alcohol limit, anyway.  In any case, why push it?  Excuses, excuses.  If the flock can be expected to submit to legitimate authority then so can the shepherds.

This is ridiculous - you can have two glasses of wine and blow a .08 BAC.  He was driving his mother home for goodness sake!

Hey, at least he apologized! It’s a gracious apology.

What a surprise!!  “He probably had a few drinks and was just fine to drive.”  HUH??  No one should hae a few drinks and drive.  Laws don’t ruin the lives of good men and women - drunk driving does!

You know what?  He probably had a few drinks and was just fine to drive.  Hopefully this incident brings some sensibility to draconian drunk driving laws that have ruined the lives of good men and women who drink socially and are just fine to drive home.

Just what we need right now. Thanks, padre.

Oh great!  What next??

How profoundly disappointing.