I quote the Sun Journal editorial from July 18: “With parishioners mournful from plans to close two venerable churches in Lewiston, the news that the diocese has ample funding to wage political battles, but not to keep the doors of its houses of worship open for its flocks, is a bitter pill. We respect the diocese’s commitment to this cause and its priorities of defending its values and traditions. But its steep financial commitment to a political effort – regardless of its source – should make parishioners wonder what its fiscal priorities really are.”

These comments seem to reveal more about the Sun Journal editorial board than about the Catholic diocese. I am not a Catholic, but I can see that the options are not as simple as the editorial suggested. And the portrayal of defending marriage as a “political” issue is grossly misleading. This is much more than a matter of politics. The way we define marriage largely defines society. To dismiss it so easily as unimportant is a disservice to readers. Marriage is one the few issues that touches upon the legal, social, religious, educational and cultural fabric of Maine.

The editorial criticized the Catholic Church for closing buildings that have been traditionally important to their own people, yet it also criticized them for protecting a more important tradition that has been important to human society for thousands of years. Does the editorial board really value buildings over society?

I find the anti-Catholic comments offensive.

Bob Emrich, Plymouth

Editor’s note: The writer is executive director of the Maine Jeremiah Project, a religious political advocacy organization.