Oregon Gov. Hosts NARAL

Archbishop John Vlazny of Portland has denounced Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski for hosting an abortion fundraiser on Friday.

Kulongoski is Catholic. He and his wife Mary will serve as the honorary hosts of a fundraising event for NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon this Friday in Portland.

Archbishop Vlazny said Kulongonski’s participation in the abortion fundraiser was especially disturbing because the event is scheduled only two days before the archdiocese’s annual Respect Life Mass on Sunday.

“For a Catholic governor to host an event of this sort seems a deliberate dissent from the teachings of the Church,” Vlazny said in a Sept. 30 archdiocesan statement.

Archbishop Vlazny asked Catholics to contact Kulongoski about the matter and provided the telephone number of the governor’s Citizen Message Line.

Said Archbishop Vlazny, “I call upon our Catholic people to express their displeasure to the governor and to remind him of the demands of personal integrity as a member of our faith community in the exercise of his office and public activities, 503-378-4582.”

— Tom McFeely