I am wondering who is paying Marc Mutty's salary.....
State
Diocese: Political funds came from donor
Jul 17, 2009 12:00 am
LEWISTON — In the face of recent firings at the Trinity Catholic School and the plans for closing two Catholic parishes in Lewiston, both due to declining revenue, the revelation that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland had spent $100,000 on efforts to repeal the recently passed same-sex marriage law took some Catholics by surprise.
"I saw that $100,000 figure in the paper and it was very demoralizing," said David Webbert, an Augusta lawyer, who for years attended Auburn's St. Philip's Church with his family and now occasionally attends in Winthrop.
But Marc Mutty, a leader of the group seeking to repeal the law who is on leave from his work at the diocese, said parishioners should know the donated funds were not taken from the collection plate.
"The money is dedicated revenues that were provided by a donor for causes such as these and money from the collection basket or any of those types of things would never be used," he said.
Mutty said he only had limited details regarding the origins of the donation.
"It's my understanding the money was left to the Portland diocese for defending church dogma or policy, that sort of thing. It wasn't specific to this particular issue. Our application to this issue was our choice, but it fell within the general parameters of the donor's request," he said.
Maine Catholics have a variety of opinions when it comes to same-sex marriage and the church's role in the repeal effort, Mutty said.
"It's a mixed bag, no question," he said. "We are looking to spend a fair amount of time in the months to come educating Catholics about this fundamental teaching of the church and societal implications."
For Webbert, who stopped attending St. Philip's regularly in part because of the pedophilia scandals, the church's position regarding same-sex marriage just doesn't make sense.
"The Catholic Church is right on a lot of important social justice issues but they are very wrong on that one," said Webbert, who testified in favor of the new law at the legislative public hearing earlier this year. "These teachings just don't hold up to intellectual thought. The key point is that the relationship is not defined by the gender of the people but it's defined by whether they love each other or not."
Webbert said his family still contributes to the international Catholic charities work, in part because he knows it doesn't go to fight issues like same-sex marriage.
Mutty said he understands why people get upset when they that the diocese spent money on this issue, regardless of where the money actually came from.
"There's no question that some would say that it's a shame we have to spend this kind of money on this kind of issue when we should be spending it on the poor or those kinds of things," he said.
Many Catholics, however, are supportive of the church's efforts,
Peter Bolduc of Lewiston said he's actually sorry to agree with the diocese for once. Bolduc is a school board member at the Trinity Catholic Church currently circulating his own petition asking the diocese to give more power to his board over school decisions.
"The code or formula in which I have been raised definitely includes a man and a woman in the union and I am fully supportive of that; I don't see any other way that nature's great cycle continues or works," he said. "Is it a good use of money compared to all the other battles that the church has to fight? I think it's one of the last bastions."
Mutty agreed.
"We believe it is a fundamental issue that speaks to the good of society and the best interests of society and once it is lost, it is lost forever," he said.
rmetzler@sunjournal.com
Comments
Publikwerks, you sure do
Submitted by geomax on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 15:12.
Publikwerks, you sure do know a lot about a church you don't belong to. It sounds like you miss it. Don't be like Martin Luther and run, if you really believe in changing things, come back and see what you can do. Another great thing about the Catholic Church - it always has open arms. The term "catholic" means "universal." The church is for everyone. We'd welcome you back without delay. And I've been away, and come back before - what a great feeling to come back.
The church obviously isn't
Submitted by Stacey W. on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 17:05.
The church obviously isn't for "everyone". The church is for everyone willing to be exactly what the church says is the correct way to be. Your welcome as long as you believe everything they say you have to. If you don't then you aren't welcome. Sorry.
"And as for their judgment
Submitted by fedupmainer on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 14:59.
"And as for their judgment they could rehabilitate pedophiles. Guess what? THAT WASN”T THEIR DECISION TO MAKE", says you. You're judging what the church did which was forgive and try to correct the problem based on knowledge they didn't have at the time. If they knew then what they ultimately found out only 20 years ago we wouldn't be having this debate. But we really digress from the point you were trying to make that the church (or donors that stipulate that their donations be used for certain things) should not be allowed to voice their opinions or fight for what they feel is right. Thankfully we live in this country where everyone has a right to say what they want. I don't expect everyone to agree with me nor do I really care whether they do or not. I can only express what I feel is right and know that when my time comes, I can stand before my God and feel I did my best to testify to His truth.
You'd think spending money
Submitted by Rinoblast on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 14:44.
You'd think spending money on education would help increase the numbers of lifelong Catholic followers and create more devout members, rather than spending it in a way that is sure to alienate many.
Publikwerks, you are wrong
Submitted by geomax on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 13:57.
Publikwerks, you are wrong again. The Catholic Church did not cover up, people within did - and I do not condone their actions. You can not convict all for the sins of a few. I am truly sorry that you are so bitter.
Also, thank you for the quote from Jesse Ventura. I always thought he was a bit lost, and now, sadly, I know he is. But there is always hope.
The church is upholding the
Submitted by fedupmainer on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 13:53.
The church is upholding the laws of God. He condemned homosexual acts. Do you think that gays are going to marry and not have sex??? So one goes hand in hand with the other. The church does many things to help people in need. And when they "hid" the pedophiles as you wrote, they thought that these men could be rehabilited. It was only in 1989 that it was proven that pedophilia is incurable. It's goes back to that whole thing about sinners wanting forgiveness and the church is where you go to get it. If you're no longer a Catholic, I feel sad for you. When your judgement comes, you'll have a lot to answer for. Just as much as the priests...
It's interesting how people
Submitted by fedupmainer on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 11:36.
It's interesting how people like Paul Koch & Publikwerks can spew hatred towards the church and the KC; and how they "group" all of us millions of Catholics as being one with the pedophiles. Both of them can sit behind their keyboards and rant about what they think the church is doing but do they attend any of these churches and participate in the committees that help make the decisions to consolidate and/or close churches? Do they know that the church is made up of "human" people who are all sinners? If we weren't sinners, we wouldn't need the church or God's forgiveness. How can they sit back and attack a church (or group like the KC who do so many wonderful things for our community without the thanks they deserve) when they don't have any real knowledge of the church or the Knights? Those few who committed the sin of pedophilia are minute percentage of the number of the Catholic Church and do not represent the Faith. I in no way condone these men, but at the same time, I don't sit back and judge a whole group of people based on the actions of a few sick men. And when another group (be it church or state run) has an incident where inappropriate acts are committed against children, you hardly see any coverage on it. It's only us Catholics that get persecuted. It all goes back to the old passage, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
How disgraceful of the
Submitted by Paul Koch on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 09:36.
How disgraceful of the hypocrites of the Catholic Church and the KC to contribute so much money and closing down our churches to spread so much hate of God's Children. This is not what I was though in school as a kid. This Bishop Malone or Baloney should
"Mutty said he only had
Submitted by oldgrump on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 09:13.
"Mutty said he only had limited details regarding the origins of the donation.
"It's my understanding the money was left to the Portland diocese for defending church dogma or policy, that sort of thing. It wasn't specific to this particular issue. Our application to this issue was our choice, but it fell within the general parameters of the donor's request," he said."
We don't really know where the money comes from, or what it's really to be used for, sooooooooo....we'll use it for this? Hmmmmmm!
Triumph, people like you
Submitted by fedupmainer on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 09:03.
Triumph, people like you are like the sinners who cast the first stone. You think that your sins are any less important to God? "Judge not lest ye be judged."
I love how people who leave
Submitted by fedupmainer on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 08:59.
I love how people who leave the church can then become "experts" on doctrine or theology. Mr Webber, since you're a lawyer, it'll be interesting when it's your time to be judged what God says about how you interpret His law.
"The mistakes of a few"?
Submitted by triumph on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 08:52.
"The mistakes of a few"? Geomax, that is an absurd, ridiculous, despicable understatement of the heinous, criminal activity of many in the church who permanently scarred the lives of countless thousands. What a hurtful, immoral insult to the victims and their families. You're catholic? So very glad I left.
When one takes a stand for
Submitted by geomax on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 07:39.
When one takes a stand for something they believe is wrong, attacks are to be expected. The Catholic Church is holy and right - its' people are not. We have all made mistakes and are sinners. The entire church should not be judged on the mistakes of a few. I believe the church is still a beacon of light in this ever darkening world. Thank God for a church that will still stand for what is right.
Skippy says, "The leadership
Submitted by triumph on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 04:52.
Skippy says, "The leadership of the church is unfortunately leading it to its final resting place." I do not agree that this is unfortunate. Certainly the child molestation scandal and the church's subsequent coverup were just two of the reasons that the Church's demise is not considered "unfortunate" by millions. That the church insists on spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to oppose loving families, while it closes schools and churches is only one more indication that the Catholic Church is passing. What is unfortunate is the lost opportunity to provide a moral compass and human compassion. That loss is, indeed, unfortunate.
This is a foolish fight to
Submitted by skippy on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 04:35.
This is a foolish fight to fight; if same sex union is voted down it will certainly be resurrected at the next session of the legislature and pass again as long as the same legislators are elected to the legislature. A better use of the money would be to help those who challenge the current supporters of this type of legislation.
The leadership of the church is unfortunately leading it to its final resting place. The church will soon cease to exist in a meaningful way unless leadership changes from the Pope on down. A look at attendance at mass should quickly awaken any sane person that there is something wrong in the direction of that congredgation.
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"It's my understanding the
"It's my understanding the money was left to the Portland diocese for defending church dogma or policy, that sort of thing. It wasn't specific to this particular issue. Our application to this issue was our choice, but it fell within the general parameters of the donor's request," Mutty said.
Does that statement pass the smell test?
A $100K donation was made. Mutty pretends to know the donor's intentions but not his identity. At the very least, considering that the funds are being spent on a political battle, Mutty should disclose the donor's identity in order to avoid the appearance that the Portland diocese is being used to launder political donations and hide the true source of campaign funds.
All that aside, if I'd already admitted to being clear about the "parameters of the donor's request" I'd be embarrassed to preface my statement with an "It's my understanding ..." That's the kind of language one uses when there's the chance a statement might need to be disavowed down the road.
Reading this article, all apologies, but it's my understanding that Marc Mutty is a liar.