Worcester bishop shocks gays with `evil' statement

By Thomas Caywood

The new leader of the Catholic Diocese of Worcester stunned gay rights supporters by writing in a church newsletter that Catholics, especially public officials, pushing to legalize same-sex marriage are ``in cooperation with evil.''

``Oh, my God. Wow,'' gasped Marianne Duddy-Burke of Boston Dignity, a group of gay Catholics. ``It's an appalling statement on so many levels. It disregards a civil servant's duty to the entire community.''

Responding to Worcester City Clerk David Rushford's public statements that allowing gays and lesbians to marry is in line with church teachings on inclusivity, Worcester Bishop Robert McManus penned a ``pastoral note of clarification'' published Friday.

After recognizing gays and lesbians as ``brothers and sisters in the human family,'' the note ends with a bombshell: ``Moreover, it must be pointed out that Catholics, especially public officials, who willingly and with approval facilitate the legal sanctioning of same-sex unions are involving themselves in cooperation with evil.''

``That's pretty strong language,'' Rushford said on hearing the paragraph yesterday. ``I just would hope that people from all walks of life and our society would agree that the civil rights of individuals are not debatable.''

Diocesan spokesman Ray Delisle cautioned that McManus was writing in the precise ``language of moral theology.''