Six former American ambassadors to the Holy See have banded together to encourage Catholics to vote for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who is a Mormon.
The six — Frank Shakespeare, Tom Melady, Ray Flynn, Jim Nicholson, Francis Rooney and Mary Ann Glendon — were announced as co-chairs of a nationwide Catholics for Romney campaign.
They gave their reasons for supporting Romney in a statement addressed to “Fellow Catholics”.
“Whatever issues might dominate the presidential campaign from now until November,” they said, “our concerns lie with fundamental rights, beginning with religious liberty.”
“While the current administration has brought our first freedom under direct assault by imposing government mandates that completely disregard religious conscience, Governor Romney believes that freedom to live one’s faith is essential to liberty and human fulfillment. And he has pledged himself to removing those federal mandates immediately.
“While the current administration has now put its weight on the side of those who propose to redefine the meaning of marriage itself, Governor Romney has stood firm in defending this sacred institution . . . .
“Where the current administration has shown its sympathy for the pro-abortion lobby, Mitt Romney will be a faithful defender of life in all its seasons.”
Five of the six ex-ambassadors served under Republican presidents: Shakespeare under Ronald Reagan; Melady under George H. W. Bush; Nicholson, Rooney, and Glendon under George W. Bush. Flynn served under the Democratic administration of Bill Clinton.
Meanwhile, a group calling itself Catholics United has been spreading a false report that Romney profited from owning a business that processed “medical waste” from abortion clinics.
The report has been investigated by FactCheck.org, a project of the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, which found it to be incorrect.
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Image: Salon