L.A. Priest Speaks Out Against Prop. 22

The Roman Catholic priest who heads the Los Angeles Archdiocese’s ministry to gays and lesbians on Friday publicly opposed Proposition 22, the ballot measure to ban gay marriages that is supported by the state’s Catholic bishops.

Father Peter J. Liuzzi, who has privately chafed at the stand by the state’s bishops, said he felt obligated to speak out after the Tidings, the archdiocese’s newspaper, published a story Feb. 18 reporting that Liuzzi backed the measure.

Liuzzi said he was “pushed to the wall” by the church newspaper story. “I have never supported Prop. 22 and I continue to oppose it,” Liuzzi said.

California’s Catholic bishops, including Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles, endorsed the measure. But Mahony issued a personal statement cautioning Catholics against using Proposition 22 to “foster ill will” against homosexuals.

“Those who use this measure to degrade others act in a manner that is wholly inconsistent with Catholic Church teaching,” Mahony wrote.

Liuzzi said that he supported that statement, which did not tell Catholics how to vote on the proposition. The church’s support for the proposition “began to raise questions about my credibility as a leader. It was making our ministry lacking in credibility,” Liuzzi said Friday.