A Roman Catholic Cardinal has used an
anti-gay slur to describe James “Wally” Brewster, President
Barack Obama's nominee to serve as ambassador to the Dominican
Republic.
Brewster, a senior managing partner for
SB&K Global in Chicago and a national LGBT co-chair for the
Democratic National Committee (DNC), is one of five openly gay men
who Obama recently nominated.
(Related: Obama
nominates five openly gay ambassadors.)
During a press conference, Cardinal
Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez referred to Brewster as a “maricon,”
which translates in English to “faggot,” BuzzFeed
reported.
Monsenor Pablo Cedano pledged that
Brewster's time in the Dominican Republican would be so unpleasant
that he will have to return home.
“I hope he does not arrive in the
country because I know if he comes he is going to suffer and will
have to leave,” Cedano told reporters.
Catholic leaders joined evangelical
groups in a letter calling on Dominican President Danilo Medina to
refuse to accept Brewster, if he is confirmed by the Senate.
On Friday, Daniel Foote, a spokesman
for the U.S. embassy in Santo Domingo, came to Brewster's defense,
insisting that he “arrives as an ambassador” not “an activist
for the gay community.”