Portland, Maine, Mar 29, 2010 / 19:07 pm
The Diocese of Portland, Maine has cut the funding for a homeless aid group who lied to about their support for same-sex "marriage." Sue Bernard, spokesperson for the diocese, told CNA on Monday that “it's a shame that the funding had to be moved,” given the group's dishonesty.
Officials from both the Diocese of Portland and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) recently told the non-profit homeless agency, Preble Street, that it had violated its grant agreement by supporting Maine's “No on 1” campaign last November which opposed legislation that would overturn the legalization of same-sex “marriage.”
The Portland Press Herald wrote on March 24 that although Mark Swann, the agency's executive director, stated that his organization did not promote or advocate same-sex “marriage” in his funding application, Preble Street was listed as a coalition partner on the “No on 1/Protect Maine Equality” website leading up to the November mid-term elections in 2009.
In December, Catholic Charities Maine, headed by Bishop Richard Malone, sent a letter to Preble Street asking it to return the $2,400 that the diocese had granted for the Homeless Voices for Justice program, which is supported by the aid group. The Catholic Campaign for Human Development likewise asked for a funding return from Preble Street in a Jan. 27 letter. CCHD had awarded a grant of $30,000 to Homeless Voices for Justice, $17,400 of which has already been spent.