Maine Catholics Conflicted Over Marriage

Are Maine Catholics not sure that same-sex marriage is a bad idea? After the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland set up a collection effort in September to raise money for the campaign to ban gay marriage in Maine, Catholics culled together $86,000.

Marc Mutty, chairman of Stand for Marriage Maine, the group working to overturn marriage equality, told the Portland Press Herald that the money raised was "certainly a reasonable amount."

But that amount was not impressive to Anne Underwood, a founder of Catholics for Marriage Equality. Underwood said there are about 198,000 Catholics in Maine, a state of 1.2 million people. "For the collection to only produce basically 43 cents per capita of Catholics in Maine doesn't seem to be a ringing affirmation that Catholics are supporting the bishop's position," she told the Press Herald.

Underwood's group urged Catholics to not donate money for the campaign to ban same-sex marriage, and instead leave notes voicing their opposition to the church's position. Mutty reports that "very, very few" notes were found in the collection.