A Rhode Island Catholic preparatory school that Democrat gubernatorial candidate Gina Raimondo attended has removed her portrait in the wake of comments she made in support of Planned Parenthood and “reproductive freedom.”
According to WPRI.com, Raimondo, who claims to be Catholic and is currently the state’s general treasurer, was valedictorian of her class at La Salle Academy in Providence.
During a campaign event on Thursday, abortion industry giant Planned Parenthood announced its support of Raimondo, who used the endorsement against her Republican opponent, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung.
“Rhode Island Right to Life is already out there supporting Mayor Fung,” said Raimondo. “Mayor Fung is on the record saying an employer can get in the middle of a decision between a woman and her doctor about her reproductive rights, and I disagree with that.”
La Salle spokesman Drew Lagace said school President Thomas Gerrow decided to have Raimondo’s portrait removed from the school’s main building, which displays other notable alumni. The portrait was removed on Thursday following Raimondo’s statements against the Catholic Church’s pro-life teachings.
After the campaign event, Raimondo was asked about her stance on abortion and the fact that her view is not consistent with Catholic teaching.
“The Catholic Church has a clear position, and I have a clear position,” Raimondo responded.
“It is always disappointing when a Catholic candidate for political office abandons the teaching of the Church on the dignity of human life for the sake of self-serving political gain,” said Bishop Thomas Tobin of the diocese of Providence in a statement following Raimondo’s comments. “Such actions demonstrate an inexcusable lack of moral courage.”
Tobin added that he wanted to remind Rhode Island Catholics that “abortion is a sin, and those who provide it, promote it, and support it will be held accountable by Almighty God for the unjust death of unborn children.”
As Breitbart News reported in August of 2013, Tobin announced that he changed his voter party affiliation from Democrat to Republican because of the strong support for abortion and same-sex marriage on display at the Democratic National Convention in 2012.
“I just said I can’t be associated structurally with that group, in terms of abortion and NARAL and Planned Parenthood and [the] same-sex marriage agenda and cultural destruction I saw going on,” he said. “I just couldn’t do it anymore.