Priests in Revolt: The San Francisco Association of Priests, 1968-1971

Abstract

On Christmas Eve, 1969, while the Catolicos por la Raza created a mini-riot in front of St. Basil's Church in Los Angeles protesting Cardinal Mclntyre's neglect of the Mexican American Catholic community,1 a less overt, more personal drama was unfolding four-hundred miles north in the suburban community of Santa Clara. Two midnight Masses were celebrated in St. Lawrence the Martyr parish?one in the parish church celebrated by the pastor, and one in the gymnasium intended for the CCD program celebrated by the associate pastor, John Sandersfeld, a priest ordained less than four years. The mass in the gymnasium was filled to over flowing, while the church only partially filled. The pastor finished his Mass earlier and then began to brood over the more exuberant gymnasium liturgy when it was reported to him (incorrectly) that no collection had been taken. When the younger priest returned to the rectory the pastor initiated a physical and verbal altercation.2 Peace was restored, but the controversy was just beginning. The following day the associate pastor was discouraged from returning to the rec tory and found himself without a parish. Over the course of the next three months pastor after pastor turned down the young priest's services, until he was finally installed at a parish that was awaiting the appointment of a new pastor. The young priest filed a complaint against his pastor with the recently formed archdiocesan priests' senate, who sent a team to investigate his charges. Many elder clergy believed the pastor's rights were violated by the intrusion. As one senior priest complained, the investigators went far beyond what was intended.3 On the other hand, the newly formed Association of Priests and the younger clergy rallied to Sandersfeld's defense. The Sandersfeld incident and its aftermath reflected a widening rift between the younger clergy and the elder clergy in the Archdiocese of San Francisco during the