Boston, Mass., Nov 22, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The Archdiocese of Boston has confirmed that Archbishop Sean O’Malley will not attend a Christmas dinner hosted by the local Catholic Charities organization, at which the group will honor pro-abortion Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese confirmed the news with CNA this morning, and an article is slated to appear in the Archdiocese’s Pilot newspaper later today.
In a statement dated November 22nd, Catholic Charities announced that “In light of the mayor’s past statements concerning abortion and same-sex marriage policies, the archbishop regrets that he cannot attend the dinner.”
“In doing this”, they added, “he acts in accord with the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ policy regarding public officials who are in conflict with Catholic teaching on specific issues, a policy formulated at plenary session of the Bishops’ conference in June of 2004.”