San Francisco Archbishop BUSTED For… Drunk Driving?

San Francisco, CA – Reverend Salvatore Cordileone was hand-picked just last month by the Pope himself to replace retirement-bound Archbishop George Niederauer, and apparently decided to celebrate his new appointment with a night on the town.

The newly-appointed Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of drunk driving, according to San Diego police. He was stopped at a checkpoint early Saturday morning near the San Diego State University campus, though it was not reported whether or not Cordileone had taken a sobriety test of any kind.

Cordileone, who currently serves as the bishop of Oakland, was chosen by Pope Benedict XVI to replace Archbishop Niederauer who is set to retire this October. Cordileone was to assume the post of Archbishop of San Fancisco on October 4th, the feast day for St. Francis of Assisi.

Cordileone is a native of San Diego, and known for his staunch opposition to same-sex marriage. The reverend played a major role in putting the controversial Prop 8, California’s same-sex marriage ban legislation,in front of voters back in 2008, and reportedly raised over $1 million to qualify the ban for the ballot ($6,000 of which he personally donated). In an interview last year, he called gay marriage a “very serious social experiment that will have dire consequences.”

As for Prop 8, a federal appeals court ruled it unconstitutional in February, putting it in the US Supreme Court next year.

More on the alleged drunk-driving Archbishop as soon as we get it.