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Brooklyn Bishop Criticized for Recorded Message Praising Pro-Abortion Politician

By James Tillman

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, November 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn has come under fire for praising New York Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who supports both abortion and same-sex "marriage," in recorded phone calls sent to voters just days before a highly-contested vote involving a City Council candidate supported by Lopez.

Assemblyman Lopez, however, has been endorsed by the NARAL Pro-Choice New York PAC.  In order to be endorsed by NARAL, a candidate has to answer eleven out of eleven questions in a fashion satisfactory to them, regarding topics such as parental notification laws, comprehensive sex education, Medicaid funding of abortion, and the codification and upholding of Roe v. Wade.

Additionally, Lopez voted to legalize same-sex "marriage" earlier this year.

Allies of the bishop, however, argue that his praise of Lopez neither amounts to an endorsement of all of Lopez' actions nor to a specifically political endorsement of a candidate.

"Do we agree with the assemblyman on same-sex marriage or abortion?" writes Msgr. Kieran Harrington in an article to be published in the diocesan newspaper tomorrow.  "No, of course we don't and the assemblyman is well aware of where we stand.  Does that mean that he ought to be denied the opportunity to be thanked for his assistance?"

The assistance to which Msgr. Harrington refers involved an extremely contentious measure that would have temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on cases involving sexual abuse. Lopez opposed and ultimately helped defeat that measure.

Such a measure would potentially have significantly cost the Brooklyn diocese; similar legislation passed in other states cost hundreds of millions of dollars to churches.

"Because of his stand, Assemblyman Lopez had to face protestors standing outside his office week after week," Msgr. Harrington writes. "The bishop wanted to call every constituent in the assemblyman's community to express our sincere gratitude for his firm and courageous stance."

Nevertheless, others have accused the bishop of yet more convoluted political maneuvering in his support of Lopez.  Councilwoman Diana Reyna, who ran against and defeated the candidate supported by Lopez, Maritza Davila, had opposed Lopez in a dispute over the zoning of a 31-acre parcel called the Broadway Triangle.  Reyna has suggested that the diocese removed a priest from his position as head of a local housing group that opposed Lopez' zoning in return for Lopez' efforts to defeat the child abuse bill.

"If the church wants to honor Assemblyman Lopez, why not do this Nov. 5?" asked Rob Solano, director of Churches United for Fair Housing, according to the New York Times. "Why so close to an election if it's not political?"

Msgr. Harrington, however, dismissed the idea that the calls were meant to influence the election. "His intent was to thank Vito, who has taken the greatest grief for helping us," he said.

The accusations come at the same time as another controversy regarding a political advertisement for a pro-abortion politician in the Brooklyn diocesan paper.  According to Commonweal Magazine Brooklyn's The Tablet recently ran a full-page, color ad for the resolutely pro-abortion Mayor Bloomburg of New York.  The ad featured a picture of Bishop DiMarzio and the mayor in Yankee stadium, each wearing Yankee gear, and said: "Mike Bloomberg: Protecting NYC's Catholic Schools. Fighting for Us."

Msgr. Harrington writes that the Tablet decided to accept political advertising because its previous decision to refuse it had "led to an increasing marginalization of the Catholic voice in the public sphere." Once the decision was made, he said, they knew it would require them "to accept political advertisements from any and all candidates."

"The vast majority of our readers would expect that the bishop of the diocese where two-thirds of city residents reside to have a working relationship with the mayor," he continues.  "We are especially grateful for the assistance of the mayor with respect to education.

"Does that mean that the bishop cannot, at the same time, profoundly disagree with the mayor on the issue of abortion or same-sex marriage?"

Interestingly, Bishop DiMarzio had previously spoken against honoring pro-abortion politicians, writing in The Tablet that Father Jenkins of Notre Dame "made a serious error in inviting President Obama to be the commencement speaker at Notre Dame, and even more so in conferring upon him an honorary degree."  In the same column he quotes the USCCB document, Catholics in Political Life, saying that the "Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles."

To respectfully contact the diocese of Brooklyn, click here.

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