War of Words in New Hampshire Shows Cracks in Relationship between Catholic Church and GOP, by Bridgette P. Lavictoire, Lez Get Real, April 2, 2011

War of Words in New Hampshire Shows Cracks in Relationship between Catholic Church and GOP

By Bridgette P. Lavictoire
Lez Get Real
April 2, 2011

http://lezgetreal.com/2011/04/war-of-words-in-new-hampshire-shows-cracks-in-relationship-between-catholic-church-and-gop/

The Roman Catholic Church has been a big supporter of the Republican Party without actually coming out and saying that. This is, of course, because the Republicans are, by and large, opposed to marriage equality and giving equality to LGBT Americans, and so is the Roman Catholic Church. (Note, this is not the case of the parishioners, many Catholics themselves are accepting and tolerant of homosexuality). Well, now the cushy relationship between the Church and the Party is kind of getting a bit thin, what with cuts to programs to help the poor and this latest blow up between New Hampshire House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt and Bishop John McCormack.

Bettancourt wrote on Facebook that McCormack was a "pedophile pimp" and that the bishop had "absolutely no moral credibility to lecture anyone." McCormack recently criticized the Republican's budget for its failure to protect people in need and called "caring for the poor 'the fundamental requirement of our religious heritage'".

Bettencourt stated in full:

"Bishop John McCormick (sic) of the Catholic Diocese of NH told the crowd, 'It's a moral concern (because) the vulnerable take priority in our society.' Would the Bishop like to discuss his history of protecting the "vulnerable"? This man is a pedophile pimp who should have been led away from the State House in handcuffs with a rain coat over his head in disgrace. He has absolutely no moral credibility to lecture anyone."

According to the Concord Monitor:

Bettencourt, a Republican from Salem, said in an interview that he posted the Facebook message because he believes McCormack failed to protect children when he worked in Massachusetts under Cardinal Bernard Law. He said he was not calling McCormack himself a pedophile.

"Bishop McCormack was assigned, when he worked under Cardinal Law, reassigning priests who they had knowledge were sexually abusing children," Bettencourt said. "What he did is he shuffled them from church to church, knowing that they had this history."

Bettencourt, a Catholic who said he is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's group, said in the interview that "I just really took exception to his questioning the things that we tried hard to do, which is to make sure that we cared for those who couldn't care for themselves."

Of course, Bettencourt is rather thin on the excuses for the attempts by the Republicans to try and protect the poor and care for those in need because they refuse to do what is necessary to do that while not running out of money- and that is to tax the rich. Simply put, the evidence that not taxing the rich would lead to more money in the coffers has been proven disastrously wrong, but the Republicans cannot back away from that nwo.

The diocese issued the following:

"The bishop speaks for the Catholic Church and the Catholic people and the message of the Catholic Church, and the Catholic faith is that you care for the poor. That is a universal message that is passed down from the Scripture, and that message doesn't change regardless of who communicates it. That's the message that we are taught as Catholics, and the message that the bishop's responsibility is to communicate to the people."

Simply put, the Republicans and the Roman Catholic Church are at odds at this point, and it is only going to get worse over time. The Republicans are determined to cut anything and everything they can in order to pad the pockets of the rich, which the Church does not like at all, but they support the Party because, well, the Republicans are opposed to LGBT rights. . .talk about a disaster.