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NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 26, 2009
CONTACT: Diane Gramley 1.814.271.9078 or 1.814.437.5355

Scranton Bishop Praised for His Actions

(Harrisburg) – In recent days Bishop Joseph Martino of the Scranton Diocese has been in the news. The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA), a statewide traditional values group, recently thanked him for his bold pro-family, pro-life stands.

The Bishop has

opposed Misericordia University, a Catholic-affiliated school, hosting of homosexual activist Keith Boykin last week;
he has asked Senator Bob Casey’s to reverse his vote against a pro-life amendment to SCHIP that would have reinstated the Mexico City Policy, thus banning taxpayer funding of overseas abortions;
he recently sent a letter asking the Irish-American organizations planning St. Patrick’s Day festivities not to “in any way honor pro-abortion officials.”

“It is refreshing to have a religious leader which holds traditional values to take a public stand for those values. He has been under intense media scrutiny and his message was not well received by Misericordia University, but he did not back down,” noted Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA.

The letter said in part, “If those who hold traditional values fail to respond to these attacks, our nation is lost. Increasingly we see institutions of higher education, even those with religious affiliation, invite speakers of questionable motives/agendas to speak to their students. Politicians, both Catholic and Protestant, have a tendency to compartmentalize their lives and not allow their religious beliefs to influence their votes in the political realm . . . this is wrong and tragic for the country.”

“Our hope is that more religious leaders will follow Bishop Martino’s example and take public stands for life and the family,” Gramley further stated.

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