Arizona Rep. Gosar releases fundraising email publicizing boycott of Pope Francis
Sep 30, 2015, 8:04 PM
PHOENIX — In a recent fundraising email, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar touted his boycott of Pope Francis’ address to Congress last week.
Gosar, who boycotted the event in protest of the pontiff’s expected focus on climate change, wrote in the email that when the “Pope chooses to act and talk like a leftist politician, then he can expect to be treated like one.”
Earlier this month, the Congressman posted a column on TownHall.com explaining his decision after he found out the pope’s visit would not bring talks of religious freedom to the Federal government.
“Media reports indicate His Holiness instead intends to focus the brunt of his speech on climate change — a climate that has been changing since first created in Genesis,” he wrote in the column. “In Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, he condemned anyone skeptical of the link between human activity and climate change and adopted the false science being propagated by the Left.”
Gosar is seeking a fourth term in office and sent the email to potential donors on Wednesday. He asked for contributions to help him raise an additional $25,000 by the end of the day.
“If I can show that I raised $25,000 more by the end of September, I will show the liberals, the left-wing media and the Obama political machine that I am a force to be reckoned with and will continue to take principled stands,” the email read.
Gosar, a Roman Catholic, was the only member of Congress who boycotted last week’s address by the pontiff for political reasons.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.