I admit this makes me mad

[dsc]

In the Nov. 3 referendum, Maine voters rejected 53 to 47 percent the same-sex marriage law.

Supporters and opponents of the law spent more than $7 million, according to the Portland Press Herald.

During the summer, Bishop Richard J. Malone of Portland sent an appeal to other Catholic bishops seeking contributions to defeat the law that the state legislature passed and the governor signed in May.

According to financial records filed with Maine's campaign finance watchdog, the Portland diocese donated nearly $286,000 to Stand For Marriage Maine, which was seeking to repeal the same-sex law. Malone had ordered a second collection be taken up at Masses one September weekend which netted $86,000.

After Portland, Maine, the largest diocesan contributors were the Philadelphia archdiocese and Phoenix diocese, each giving $50,000. The sees of Newark, N.J., St. Louis, Mo., and Youngstown, Ohio, each contributed $10,000. The Diocesan Assistance Fund of Providence, R.I., gave $10,000.00.

http://ncronline.org/news/politics/dioceses-major-contributors-repeal-same-sex-marriage

I grew up in the Youngstown Diocese. I drive up that way twice a year and ruefully call it the depression tour. It is so sad to see idle plants, boarded up houses, and closed businesses. The six counties of that diocese have unemployment rates ranging from a low of 9.5% to a high of 13.5%. The economy in that area has been on a steady decline for the past few decades with a small respite during Clinton. It is nothing short of outrageous for money to be transferred from that area to anywhere else simply for the purpose of taking rights away from gays. That 10k could have fed some people who need fed, clothed some people who are naked, or heated a house that would otherwise be freezing. Instead that money was used to take insurance away from those who needed it. Shame a thousand times shame.

[redqueen]

1. Really puts the priorities of these churches in perspective. (nt)

[marmar]

2. The Catholic Church is determined to render itself completely irrelevant to everyone....

.... GenX and younger.....and probably to a lot of Boomers as well.

[pnwmom]

5. Not the Church -- the hierarchy. n/t

[WVRICK13]

15. It Did That

for me when I was 13. As an alter boy I trusted our priest for advice. When I asked him for advice about being gay (I needed an adult I could trust) he told me there was no redemption and I was going to burn in hell forever. Being a bit offended I told him, "fuck you and fuck your god, I refuse to believe in anyone who doesn't believe in me." Became an atheist and haven't looked back and that was 42 years ago.

[Raster]

3. The catholic church has decided that the object(s) of its new crusade will be the Gays.

[pnwmom]

6. The body of the Church has not decided that - only its increasingly irrelevant hierarchy. n/t

[redqueen]

7. They have the authority to decide

where and how thousands of dollars are spent.

That's slightly relevant.

[Orrex]

9. Of course they do, but when the city is literally crumbling around them...

it would be nice to see them devote their resources to local improvements rather than underwriting political campaigns.

[Tesha]

13. Who gave the money to "the special collection"? (NT)

[pnwmom]

14. Probably a small fraction of the whole. n/t

[Tesha]

16. Of course. It's always just "a few bad apples", isn't it? (NT)

[pnwmom]

4. Me too. n/t

[Orrex]

8. 422 East out of Youngstown has more burned-out buildings than I've ever seen

And a lot of the roads seem to be made of random blocks of asphalt dumped onto the ground.

Nice to see the Diocese pitching in where it really matters.

[dsc]

10. I have never taken that particular route but I am not surprised at all

I have taken 7 and 11 among others.

[hedgehog]

11. Write to the Vindicator about this. You might stir up some action.

[dsc]

12. I intend to write to that paper and the Ashtabula paper

[Mari333]

17. knr for truth

[Orsino]

18. They won't let us vote on meaningful ways to better our lives...

...but they sure as hell will laugh as we vote each other's rights away.

[dickthegrouch]

19. I want a federal law preventing....

people and institutions who won't be directly affected by a constitutional amendment from participating in any way in influencing its outcome.

If the F'ing federal government doesn't want to "meddle", at least they can prevent out of state meddling too.

The language I'd write includes something like:
No non-resident of the state, or institution, may donate time, money, services or any other payment in kind towards any issue associated with a constitutional amendment. If any person or institution within the state collects money from out of state for these purposes, they shall be guilty of felonious election tampering subject to <x> years in jail (the board of directors or equivalent to serve the time in the case of an institution). Another penalty shall be the outright nullification of the result of the question addressed in the amendment.