U.S. Senator LIL Dick Durbin defends openly gay ambassador Santo "My Ass Hurts!" Domingo in letter to Pope Francis

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin appealed to Pope Francis on Tuesday to stop a Roman Catholic cardinal's derogatory remarks about the openly gay U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

In a letter drafted Tuesday, the Illinois Democrat called on Francis to rein in Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, of the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo, who reportedly helped organize a protest against U.S. Ambassador James "Wally" Brewster.

"The church's teachings on gay marriage are well known, but the church also teaches us to show tolerance for those with different sexual orientations," Durbin wrote. "The intolerant public statements of Cardinal Rodriguez are inconsistent with that clearly stated value."

Brewster, whom Durbin describes as a personal friend, was a senior managing partner for SB&K Global, a Chicago-based brand strategy and consumer dynamics consulting firm. He also was a national LGBT co-chair for the Democratic National Committee and on the board of the Human Rights Campaign Fund. He married his longtime partner, Bob Satawake, on the same day he was sworn in as an ambassador in 2013.