SALEM — Archbishop John Vlazny is criticizing Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Catholic, for playing host to an abortion rights fundraiser Friday night in Portland.<\/p>\n
Vlazny, head of the Archdiocese of Portland, said it’s an embarrassment and a scandal for Catholics that Kulongoski is hosting the event two days before the church conducts its annual “Respect Life” mass in Portland to show opposition to abortion.<\/p>\n
“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 statement today.<\/p>\n
Kulongoski is a longtime supporter of a woman’s right to choose an abortion.<\/p>\n
“The archbishop is the governor’s pastor, and he has only respect and admiration for the archbishop,” Kulongoski spokeswoman Anna Richter Taylor said. “They obviously disagree on the issue of choice.”<\/p>\n
Kulongoski and his wife, Mary Oberst, are the honorary hosts of Friday night’s fundraising dinner for NARAL Pro Choice Oregon. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is among those scheduled to speak. The event is to be held at a Portland hotel. <\/p>\n