San Antonio Winery- La Times

Imagine turning on the television today, and viewing a documentary on a historical California winery on the screen produced by the California Bountiful Foundation.

Now expand that thought, and picture the San Antonio Winery in Southern California, a landmark that has survived 75 years, and is commissioned by the Catholic Church to produce “Sacramental Wines” used in Holy Mass,  throughout the USA.

     This specific wine is claimed to literally and symbolically represent “the blood of Jesus Christ” during the holy mass, and is poured into the sacred chalice on the altar in celebration of the revered Catholic Sacrament.

     So far, my suggestion may seem innocent, and the show can be interesting and educational. You may even have a glass of San Antonio sacramental wine to enjoy as you watch the presentation. The winery is beautifully depicted by the producers at California Bountiful Foundation.

    Recently, I did in fact, turn on the television to surprisingly watch this holy wine inspired documentary, and I found it entertaining for several minutes. But then, the show took me on a dark journey into past recollection. Irony has a way of sneaking up on me, and haunting me to remind me that I have experienced an undeserved evil that can surface like a plague at any moment. It's called PTSD.

    Now imagine that you were raped by a San Francisco Catholic priest, and your childhood was derailed and you were repeatedly violated, and in the year 2003 you came forward with your story; and you were countered with vehement opposition. To make matters worse, the Catholic church officials and spokesperson in San Francisco claimed you were “fabricating a tale” and that the priest was unjustly accused.

This is not an episode of the Twilight Zone, although it could be.

    This horrific, and factual scenario  escalated into a five year legal battle with the Catholic priest abuser Fr. Whelan, the Salesians of San Francisco, and numerous battles with Cardinal Levada's SF Diocesan representatives. All of which, I, the accuser won -  by court jury verdict in July 2006, and also in the Supreme High Appellate Court in August 2008.

     This nightmare insipidly reappeared a few days ago, simultaneously as my jaw dropped when I viewed the expert spokesperson for the Catholic Church proudly revealing the details concerning the purity of Sacramental Wine. The priest chosen for the interview for the show was none other than the infamous child molester who sexually abused me - Fr. Stephen Whelan, from St. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in San Francisco.

    According to the quotes on the California Bountiful  show, and on their website, “the (sacramental wine) must be natural, made from natural grapes, and not corrupt”.

How ironic. What about the clergy spokesperson for the holy wine? Is he allowed to be corrupt? The show then continues to quote the clergy sex abuser, Fr. Whelan: “Sacramental wine is pure wine. You don't add colorings, flavorings, sugars, preservatives, or water”.

     Another audacious line quoted by the show itself:

“Many members of the clergy value San Antonio's wine for more than just religious purposes”.

Well, that's an understatement. Take it from a knowledgeable victim of the church. They absolutely do use the wine for more than religious purposes. Especially Fr. Whelan.

    The audacity of the Catholic church, to allow the child abuser Fr. Whelan to boldly represent the wine they claim is transformed into their quoted “blood of Jesus Christ”, is an insult to all clergy abuse victims, and a testament to the continued debasement of ethics by the Catholic Church in San Francisco. It is also insulting to the Catholic Church, and California Bountiful, whether they choose to realize it or not.

     It was 4 years ago that the court upheld the finding of liability against Fr. Whelan and the Catholic Salesians of San Francisco, and the man is still appearing on television for a show that was shown long after he lost the civil trial for sexual abuse. Not only that, but he is identified on the program as a “Reverend”. The program also states that the show on the sacred wine first appeared in 2009, a year after the final court jury decision against Fr. Whelan was upheld in Supreme High Court.

    Note to California Bountiful Foundation: If you produce a public film and use a priest as an expert on your documentary, it would be prudent to at least “google” his name beforehand. Fr. Whelan's loss in court for molestation is plastered all over the internet.

     But the program is constantly being replayed on television still, and it is available to be downloaded, without any regard to the apparent lack of remorse by the Catholic Church, nor for the shame and disgrace it is perceived to exude by abuse victims.

     Witnessing the face of the man who sexually assaulted me talking confidently about spirituality and the purity of the sacramental wine, intensifies the childhood clergy abuse story to an even higher level of continued debauchery. 

     My first inclination was to contact the callous Catholic Diocese, and California Bounty to express my concern for their ludicrous behavior. However, previous attempts by me at notifying the Vatican of the shame and disgrace of the Catholic Church in handling their sex abuse crisis have always fell on deaf ears.

     At some point in time, perhaps the San Antonio Winery or the California Bountiful

producers will realize that it is not a good public relations move to allow a clergy sex abuser to represent them, and they will hopefully be considerate of the children in this world who have had their youthful innocence stolen from them by unconscionable molesters.

    And if there is a “God”, maybe he too has had enough of the insensitive conduct of the Catholic Church, and there would be some divine intervention. Although I doubt it, it's probably wishful thinking at best. I will state for the record, that I will not be supporting San Antonio Winery in the future, nor will I ever forget what Fr. Whelan, the San Francisco Diocese, and the Catholic Church are capable of doing.

Link to California Bountiful with clergy molester Fr. Whelan as spokesperson for church holy wine.

http://californiacountry.org/features/article.aspx?arID=339