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.”