(St. Louis)  --  The St. Louis Archdiocese acknowledges that it helped to overturn the gay marriage law in Maine last week.

   Campaign finance records indicate that the Archdiocese gave $10,000 to support the effort to reject a law enacted last May that gave homosexuals full marriage rights in Maine.

   St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson said in a statement released yesterday that the money came from a "special needs" account funded by "private gifts."  Campaign finance records show that 45 dioceses around the country contributed more than 180-thousand dollars to the effort, but only the dioceses of Philadelphia and Phoenix gave more that St. Louis.

   Tax-exempt religious organizations aren't allowed to fund candidates, but they are allowed to bankroll ballot issues.
  
(Copyright 2009 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)