Religious and conservative leaders in the Dominican Republic are up in arms over President Barack Obama’s nomination of James “Wally” Brewster, an openly gay man, as the next American ambassador to the Caribbean island.
The Dominican Republic specifically bans same-sex marriage in its constitution. The Catholic Church and its leaders have a strong influence on social matters in the country, where 88 percent of citizens identify as Catholic, and were seen as instrumental in the 2010 ban.
In a video in which he speaks with reporters, Cardinal Nicolás de Jésus López Rodríguez said he rejects Brewster’s nomination and uses the word maricones, which translates to “faggots.”
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