Tim Craig kinda buried the lede in his D.C. Wire report on the fresh effort to bring same-sex marriage to the ballot.

Yes, Bishop Harry Jackson and the usual suspects filed new papers to day to hold a vote on making “only marriage between a man and a woman…valid and recognized in the District of Columbia.”

But then there’s this: The Archdiocese of Washington “also submitted a letter to the elections board today calling for a referendum. Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl even sent a letter to 300 Catholic priests asking them to get behind the effort.”

“It is ironic that at the same time the city is asking for voting representation in the U.S. Congress, its leaders are denying residents the opportunity to participate in the Democratic process for an issue with widespread implications for children and families,” sais a statement from Wuerl from Ronald Jackson, executive director of the D.C. Catholic Conference, an organ of the archdiocese.