Catholics return check from lawmaker over marriage vote

(RNS) A New York lawmaker has found himself at odds with the Roman
Catholic Church after a parish school refused a $50 donation because of
his vote in favor of same-sex marriage.

Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, a Democrat, sent a $50 check to honor a
student at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Brooklyn's Williamsburg
neighborhood only to have it returned uncashed.

The rejected check was attached to a letter from Monsignor Joseph
Calise, the church's priest, who said Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
"requested that all gifts received from politicians supporting same-sex
marriage legislation be refused."