From a reader, in re the new lobbyist for the Mass. Catholic Conference:
In case you have not heard, there’s a controversy brewing in Massachusetts that you might want to be aware of. The lobbying/public policy arm of the Catholic Church just hired a new lobbyist who previously gave donations to politicians who specifically opposed Catholic Church positions.
(Much more in extended post – go read)
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=93605Pro-life and pro-family conservatives are very upset, and the new hire’s response to the concerns is pathetic. At best, he’s basically saying, "I may be personally opposed to these Church positions, but I won’t bring my personal views into the Catholic Conference job." His justification holds no water.An online query with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance at:shows the Mass Credit Union PAC (Saunders’ previous employer) donated to 17 different politicians over the past 3 years (enter "Mass Credit Union" in the "Last Name" field): Joyce Spiliotis, Paul Kujawski, Steven Tolman, Edward Connolly, Barbara L’Italien, Carol Donovan, Scott Brown, Steven Baddour, James Eldridge, John Hart, William Greene, Joan Menard, Harold Naughton, Gene O’Flaherty, David Flynn, Philip Travis, and Steven Walsh.If they needed to build cozy relationships with other anti-Catholics like Sen. President Travaligni, Shannon O’Brien, Sen. Marian Walsh, and City Council President Flaherty to advance their business, the Credit Union PAC would simply have given to them as well.Here are a few specific examples of Ed Saunders’ donations:
5/21/2004: Mr. Saunders personally donated $200–the maximum allowed–to the campaign of Senate President Robert Travaglini, who in the previous months actively opposed the Catholic Church’s efforts to pass a clean amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. This donation came just days after same-sex marriages began in Massachusetts. It also came only a month after MCC’s 4/23/2004 "Notes from the Hill" published in the Archdiocesan newspaper, The Pilot, advised Catholics they should "share their serious disappointment" with Travaligni and other politicans for voting against MCC’s position seven out of the first eight Convention votes ("mandating same-sex civil unions equal to marriage, and refusing to allow for a split.").Travaligni was opposed in the 2004 election by Gil Lavoie, a pro-life Catholic who advocated for the Church’s position on traditional marriage, but for some reason Saunders chose to financially back Travaglini instead. Is a donation to Sen. Travaglini how Mr. Saunders demonstrated his support for the Mass Catholic Conference’s efforts? Since winning that race, we know Travaglini has passed yet more legislation in opposition to Catholic public policy positions: legalizing embryonic stem cell research and human cloning, and mandatory emergency contraception legislation with no exclusion for Catholic hospitals.7/24/2004: Mr. Saunders donated $100 to the campaign of State Sen. Marian Walsh, who also in previous months had actively opposed the Catholic Church’s efforts to pass the marriage amendment. In the 4/23/2004 ‘Notes from the Hill," the Mass Catholic Conference asked constitutents to share their "profound disappointment" with Sen. Walsh. She was part of a group of seventy-six legislators who twice voted to close down the constitutional convention without any amendment. "This group included the core supporters of same-sex marriage opposed to letting the people vote. They opposed the MCC’s position on all counts." Walsh was opposed in the 2004 election by Bob Joyce, a pro-life Catholic attorney (who works with the Pro-Life Legal Defense Fund) and who advocated for the Church’s position on traditional marriage, but for some reason Saunders chose to financially back Walsh instead. Is this an indication of Mr. Saunders’ support for the Mass Catholic Conference’s positions and efforts? As you know, Walsh is the key sponsor of a bill opposed by the Catholic Church that requires greater financial transparency and reporting by religious organizations.6/07/05: Mr. Saunders donated $100 to City Council President Michael F. Flaherty. According to Council President Flaherty’s website at: http://www.michaelflaherty.com/photos.html, Flaherty participated in two Gay Pride events, on 6/03/05, the "Pre-Pride Flag Raising Reception Hosted By Council President Flaherty" and on 6/13/05, the "Pride Parade," described by the Boston Globe as follows: "As usual, there were plenty of explicit displays of sexuality — shirtless men in skimpy underwear dancing on floats and women wearing nothing but tape over their breasts." In this same timeframe (6/10/05) Flaherty was harshly critical of the Archdiocese for their closing of Presentation School in Brighton:Last May, shortly before gay marriages began in Massachusetts, Flaherty also signed a statement as a "prominent Catholic " in support of homosexual rights and widely viewed as being critical of MCC’s defense of marriage efforts. The statement was also signed by known dissenters from the Catholic faith and gay-marriage advocates including James Carroll, Fr. David Hollenbach, Larry Kessler, Mary Jo Bane, Fr. Walter Cuenin, Rosa Buffone (married lesbian), and others:Furthermore, last July, Flaherty spoke at the Democratic National Convention in support of the pro-abortion presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry by saying, "I believe we can put our country on a new course."City Council President Michael Flaherty declared, ”The archdiocese ought to be ashamed of itself; this is unconscionable. With everything that has happened . . . and everything that the church is supposed to stand for, I just don’t know how they could do this."
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