Countering critics who include former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Bishop James D. Conley of Denver has defended the end of Catholic grants to the Compa-eros immigrant resource center, saying that the Church cannot oppose “same-sex marriage” while funding those who advocate it.

“This is not the consequence of conservative pressure being put on the church or some kind of an internecine culture war,” said Bishop Conley, the Archdiocese of Denver’s apostolic administrator, in the Denver Post June 14. “This is the consequence of the basic integrity of Catholic doctrine: We can’t claim to work for our beliefs and at the same time work against them.”

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development ended a $30,000 annual grant to the Pueblo, Colo.-based Compa-eros immigrant center. The grant made up half of its annual budget.