By David Farmer,Staff Writer

PORTLAND – Lewiston political and religious activist Paul Madore rallied about a dozen supporters outside the Chancery offices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland Saturday.

Madore’s cause: Outrage over the inclusion of two abortion-rights supporters in a fundraising event to raise money for the heating oil assistance program, Keep ME Warm.

St. Hyacinth’s Church in Westbrook allowed Rep. Timothy Driscoll, D-Westbrook, and Rep. Bob Duplessie, D-Westbrook, to sponsor the event, which is intended to raise money for low-income families to heat their homes. The supper was scheduled for Saturday night and Madore’s group, which included people from around the state, intended to move their protest to outside the church by its 4:30 p.m. start time.

Madore, the director of the Maine Grassroots Coalition, says that allowing the two politicians to participate in the event undermines a ban on political activities by abortion-rights supporters on church grounds. In a strongly worded news release sent out Friday afternoon, Madore accused diocese officials of lying and accused the bishop of going back on his word and covertly supporting abortion.

He also accused the Catholic Church of Maine of selling out to “pro-abort” politicians as a way to guarantee government financial support for the Catholic Charities of Maine.

“Pro-life Catholics have the responsibility to denounce evil and to hold the Bishop (Richard Malone) accountable for failing to do the same,” Madore said in the release. “It’s gotten to the point where ordinary Catholic faithful need to tell the clergy the difference between right and wrong. If they don’t care about standing against evil, maybe they’ll care when Catholics stop blindly sending them money.”

The protest was sparked by an e-mail sent to Driscoll and the diocese last week by George Rodrigues, a member of the Westbrook church.

“The bishop took a stand against abortion in 2004, but now his staff excuses abortion in the name of heating oil,” Rodrigues said. “We’ve tried every protocol possible. We’re tired of it. Tired of the ineptness of the chancery.”

“This is within the bishop’s and the church’s teaching to help others,” Duplessie said. “This isn’t political, and we’ve tried to keep it non-political, but others have been trying to make it political.”

In response, Malone released a statement about the controversy. According to Malone, St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Westbrook, which includes St. Hyacinth’s, is holding a spaghetti supper to benefit people who can’t pay their heating bills.

“The need is great and profound,” Malone wrote in a January letter to pastors. “Rising fuel costs, as we well know, will place too many families in harm’s way, choosing between essentials such as food, medication and fuel to make ends meet. I fear for the worst but pray for a positive outcome. Let’s join together in the spirit of the Gospel and reach out to our neighbors in need.”

The response also said that the Bishop considers the St. Anthony’s fundraising supper to be an appropriate response to that need.

In addition to the protest, Madore is calling for a financial boycott aimed at the chancery. Specifically, Madore is calling for a boycott of the Bishop’s Appeal, which supports the chancery budget. He is also demanding that the chancery’s director of public affairs, Marc Mutty, be fired and that the Rev. Marc Caron, who said the fundraiser was sanctioned by the diocese and sponsored by the parish, be removed or publicly reprimanded.

His rhetoric did not cool during the protest. Caron is the coordinator of the chancery’s Office of Institutional Chaplains.

Mutty, reached early Saturday morning, said Madore is drawing a line between two things that aren’t connected.

“He’s making a claim that the event is political and that (the two representatives) are trying to use the event to gain credibility in the Catholic community,” Mutty said. “It would be nave to think politicians don’t have things like that in mind, but we’re saying the primary focus of this event is the Keep ME Warm program.

“The bishop made it very clear soon after arriving in Maine that the church would not provide a forum for legislators who hold views contrary to the church’s,” Mutty continued. “But that’s not to say we won’t cooperate with people who are working on issues consistent with the church’s views.”

Madore and his organization lead the losing fight last year against the state’s new anti-discrimination law, which makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based upon their sexual orientation. During the campaign, Madore took his particular brand of street theater outside St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lewiston to protest comments the Rev. Michael Seavey had made in support of extending equal rights to gays, lesbians and transsexual individuals.

The chancery’s offices were closed Saturday.

Madore’s inflammatory and highly offensive rhetoric, Mutty said, has the potential to alienate other Catholics, who will remain supportive of the bishop.

“People do rally around the bishop even though they may not agree with all his positions,” Mutty said.

According to Duplessie, Madore’s efforts have actually increased support for the event. “People within the Catholic community have been calling Rep. Driscoll and asking how they can help.”

“This event is all about helping others,” Driscoll said. “I don’t understand why a week before the event George Rodrigues wants to unravel what I’ve been working on.”