Diocese of Phoenix gave $50,000 to defeat Maine's gay marriage law

What possessed the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix to contribute $50,000 to help defeat gay marriage in Maine? Even the Mormons, who spent a bundle in California, didn't toss any cash at this effort. In Maine, the Diocese of Portland donated $300,000, and other dioceses--including Phoenix--donated $250,000. So, it looks like the Catholics threw enough money at this effort to influence the twistable minds of voters to favor the referendum which on Nov. 3 overturned a state law approving gay marriage. What a disappointment!
As a resident of the Phoenix area, I can't believe that--in this economy with so many local people in need--the bishop would approve such an expenditure. But Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted has been tough on gays. When nine priests in the diocese signed a document affirming gay rights, he insisted they withdraw their support. The one priest who refused was suspended from his duties.
Raised Catholic, I remember reciting from my Baltimore Catechism as a child at Sacred Heart School in Tucson. One of the recitations went like this: "God made us in his image and likeness." Interesting! I guess it should have read "God made us in his image and likeness--except for gays."