According to campaign finance reports, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland donated $553,608.27 toward the passage of Question 1, and $50,000 of that funding came from the Philadelphia archdiocese.
Donna Farrell, director of communications for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, declined to comment on the source of the $50,000.
The Portland, Me., diocese was the second-largest contributor to the Yes on 1 effort, donations for which were organized under the umbrella agency Stand for Marriage Maine. New Jersey-based National Organization for Marriage took the top spot with donations totaling more than $1 million.
The Philadelphia archdiocese, which made the donation Aug. 26, is tied with the Archdiocese of Phoenix as the top contributor to the Portland diocese’s effort to specifically fight marriage equality; the diocese previously received an undesignated contribution of $100,000 from an individual donor, and chose to put the donation toward Yes on 1.
The next largest diocesan donation after Philadelphia and Phoenix was $10,000, given by the Diocese of Newark in New Jersey, as well as several other Catholic dioceses throughout the country.
Stand for Marriage reported donations totaling about $2.5 million, while marriage-equality supporters, organized under No on 1, solicited about $4 million.
Voters approved the ballot question Nov. 3 by a 53-47-percent vote, nullifying the marriage-equality law approved by the legislature in the spring.
The local donation was made about a month-and-a-half before the archdiocese announced it was closing Northeast Catholic High School and Cardinal Dougherty High School, as it could no longer afford to keep the schools open with decreasing enrollment.
Farrell said the Maine contribution was made at the prompting of Bishop Richard Malone of Portland.
“The Archdiocese of Philadelphia did make a contribution to the Diocese of Portland’s efforts against the legalization of gay marriage in Maine,” Farrell said. “The bishop of Portland requested a donation from all of the United States bishops to assist with education to help people understand the timeless teaching of the church that marriage is between one man and one woman.”
Sue Bernard, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Portland, confirmed Malone sent out a letter to dioceses throughout the country requesting assistance.
“We’re a pretty small diocese compared to other dioceses, and we simply didn’t have the resources to try to mount a campaign or help Stand for Marriage Maine in a way that would be effective on our own,” Bernard said.
The Portland diocese contributed approximately $155,500 from its own general treasury to Stand for Marriage, as well as the $100,00 donation, and another $41,000-plus brought in through special church collections. The diocese also made four payments of more than $7,612.98 each to Stand for Marriage to cover the salary of the “one-and-a-half” diocesan employees working at the Stand for Marriage headquarters.
Bernard said representatives of the Portland diocese advocated for Yes on 1 through community discussions but contributed all of the donated money directly to Stand for Marriage Maine.
Besides the Philadelphia archdiocese, the Diocese of Pittsburgh contributed $5,000, the Diocese of Erie donated $1,000 and the dioceses of Scranton and Altoona-Johnstown both contributed $500. The Diocese of Metuchen, N.J., sent in $500, and the Diocese of Wilmington, Del., which recently filed for bankruptcy stemming from the long list of priest sex-abuse lawsuits pending against it, contributed $200.
Jen Colletta can be reached at jen@epgn.com.
Threaten a class action lawsuit representing every No on 1 donor who’s names are publicly released. OUR donors face equal or a higher level of threat for our political stance as Yes on 1 donors.
For issues affecting us Jews, who want to affect change in our religion, please see:
Here is an article the PGN appears to exclude:
Haifa gays: Police ignore us
About 100 people, including members of gay groups and social organizations, participated Tuesday in a protest march in Haifa in the wake of Saturday night’s shooting at a Tel Aviv gay center.
The demonstrators protested what they characterized as police inaction in the face of violence against homosexuals.
The marchers passed through two sites where gays were attacked in the past year. In one case, stones were hurled at a group of young homosexuals. One of the victims, 19-year-old Asaf, told Ynet that a vehicle stopped by the group "and the man who came out of it asked if we’re homosexuals. We said we are and then he threw stones at us."
and
if you have been sexxually abused by Jewish Clery - an epidemic - whose victims have been persecuted and families silenced, please tell your story:
Submit Your Story!
Author/Editor - Vicki Polin
Over the last few years I have been working on a book addressing sexual violence in Jewish communities around the globe. I’m finally at the place that I am looking for Jewish survivors stories about healing, what worked and what didn’t.
Due to the fact that my work has focused more in the orthodox world over the last 7 years, there is more of a slant in that direction, yet the book is about sexual violence in movements of Judaism and also includes Jewish survivors who are unaffiliated.
The article should include experiences dealing with your community, rabbis and family members. Stories should be no longer then 2-3 pages long.
If you are interested in sending your story, send an e-mail stating you want your story to be considered for the book along with you piece.
Once your story has been selected and you agree to the editing I will send you a release granting permission for your article to be included in the book. I will need to know your real name for my files, yet you can use a pseudonym as the author of your story for the book.
Please understand that it may not be possible to include all stories and that your story may be edited. There are eight types of articles I am looking for, they are:
1. Jewish survivors of incest 2. Jewish survivors of child sexual abuse (by offenders outside the home) 3. Jewish survivors of clergy sexual abuse (as an adult or child) 4. Jewish survivors of a sexual assault as an adult 5. Jewish survivors who became pregnant as a result of being sexually victimized. 6. Parents of survivors 7. Spouses and or family members of sex offenders 8. Rabbis who have worked with survivors of sexual violence
Vicki Polin, MA, NCC, LCPC, ATR-BC P.O. Box 65273 Baltimore, MD 21209 vickipolin@aol.com
Vicki Polin is the founder and executive director of The Awareness Center, which is the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault
Regards,
Gold
During the Revolutionary War, the colonists adopted the snake as a warning to England that they would not be walked all over without protest.
Ben Franklin chose the rattlesnake, saying, "She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders." We've adapted this traditional symbol to our cause in the spirit of our founding fathers.
To see it go to www.DontTreadOnMeRainbow.com.