Karl Baker

The News Journal

A small group of Catholic protesters Monday called on Bishop Francis Malooly of the Diocese of Wilmington to emphatically "repudiate" Vice President Joe Biden after he officiated a gay wedding earlier in August.

Phil Santoro, a retired health care worker from Hockessin, was with three other demonstrators in front of the Diocese of Wilmington building at 1925 Delaware Ave. at 11 a.m. holding a sign that read, "Bishop Malooly repudiate Joe Biden or resign!"

Santoro said marriage is between a man and a woman "because that's how nature is set up, so that we can have children."

On Aug 1, Biden, who is an early supporter of marriage equality, officiated the same-sex marriage of White House staffers Brian Mosteller and Joe Mahshie. The wedding was held at Biden’s residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory.

POLL: Do you support Joe Biden's decision to officiate the marriage of two men?

“Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house,” Biden tweeted with a photo of the ceremony. “Couldn't be happier, two longtime White House staffers, two great guys.”

One week after the wedding, three national Catholic leaders in a blog post said "confusion arises" when a "prominent Catholic politician publicly and voluntarily officiates" a gay wedding.

The Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage, but in a 2013 speech Pope Francis softened the organization's stance on gay rights, in general, by stating, "if someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him?"

Santoro wants a more forceful response from the clergy. Because Biden is a high-profile Catholic, Santoro said, he should not conduct himself in ways that go against the church's teachings.

"He can do whatever he wants but when he comes out publicly as a Catholic politician then that's different," Santoro said, who is a parishioner at St. Mary of the Assumption church.

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Robert Krebs, spokesman for the Diocese of Wilmington was not immediately available for comment.

Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.