The Problem
Senate Bill 1098 introduced to the Judiciary Committee
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The bill dictates:
- Lay Boards will have complete control of Administration and Finances of Parishes
- Bishops and pastors will not have any vote in decisions that the board makes
- Bishops and Pastors will have no say in who is elected to the lay boards.
All dictated by the state. This goes way beyond mere layman oversight which the CT dioceses have already voluntarily established. This changes the very character of the Catholic Church and its hierarchical system established by Christ. What ever happened to separation of Church and State? What is our Connecticut Legislature thinking??!!!
The Event
Hearing starting at 12 noon on Wednesday, March 11, Room 2c Legislative Office Building in Hartford, CT. Everyone should consider attending, especially those in Connecticut. Let’s make a statement.
Coverage
AirMaria.com – Will do a live broadcast from the Legislative Office Building in Hartford CT on Wednesday, March 11 starting at 11:00 am Eastern Daylight Time. Tell your friends
The Buzz
Diocese of Bridgeport Best resources! Maps, Schedules, Video – Bishop Lori asks for 1500 or even 2200 participants, lets do better than that. Help Bishop Lori “fight the irrational, unlawful, and bigoted Proposed Bill #1098/2009”
Deal Hudson Inside Catholic, cant believe his ears.
Laura Ingram Talked about this on her radio show today with Raymond Arroyo of EWTN
Knights of Columbus – Working with the Connecticut Bishops from their World Headquarters in New Haven, CT
Catholic League – Bill Donahue is calling for the expulsion of Lawlor and McDonald who introduced the bill. He’s serious!! And gives info on how we can help.
Family Institute of Connecticut – “Big Turnout Needed Wednesday, March 11th to Stop Major New Attack on Religious Liberty!”
Senator McLachlan of CT – “Unfortunately, I think some well-intentioned, unhappy Catholics from Darien are being used as pawns by Senator McDonald and Representative Lawlor in a thinly-veiled attack on the Church.”
National Catholic Register – Anti-Church ‘Miter-Box’ Bill: “A bill removing control of parishes from bishops has been introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly. Think of the bill as a miter box — for bishops’ miters.”
Archbishop Mansell Statement – “This bill violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It forces a radical reorganization of the legal, financial and administrative structure of our parishes.”
Connecticut Catholic Conference Action Alert – “OPPOSE LEGISLATION ATTACKING CATHOLIC CHURCH” “The Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly is considering legislation that would restructure Catholic parishes.”
Norwich Diocese – “This bill violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It forces a radical reorganization of the legal, financial, and administrative structure of our parishes.”
Fr. Zuhlsdorf – “This sounds like something directly from a Michael O’Brian novel”
American Papist – “Connecticut lawmakers moved this week to directly attack the self-governing rights of the Catholic Church.” and more
From the Liberal Dinosaurs:
Hartford Currant – Connecticut’s Catholic bishops are speaking out against a controversial bill that they claim would strip the church over control of its finances, thus jeopardizing religious liberty. The bill, introduced by the judiciary committee, would allow local parishioners to control their individual church’s financial affairs.
The proposed legislation is a terribly frightening salvo in what has been part of a relentless assault upon the Church and Catholics by those frustrated and angered by the Church’s resolute proclamation of the Gospel. It has been ever thus, in one fashion or another.
Thank God for our defenders – the faithful laity and the Church’s allies, but especially for our courageous religious and our Bishops, with whom we stand, united and obedient. Let us invoke the intercession of the saints and holy souls, particularly the martyrs. Let us entrust our effort to the care of Our Lady and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And let us follow the example of our Lord by praying for our persecutors. Prayer, and in particular, the rosary, is the most powerful weapon we have. Let us deploy it unceasingly.
Ave Maria!
A live broadcast! Fantastic! Hope you can get a camera into the hearing!
Ave Maria!
Some more “buzz”…
There are a few additional interesting articles on the bill out there now, including one in particular from Tom Hoopes at the National Catholic Register that addresses details about tomorrow’s hearing.
http://www.ncregister.com/daily/voice_of_the_faithful_v._church/
If you are planning to attend the hearing, you should read the entire article for a heads up as to what might transpire there, as well as Voice of the Faithful’s involvement in this scheme, but to sum up the article he states:
Connecticut Catholics, be prepared in Hartford Wednesday:
1. Catholic “experts” will back the anti-Church bill.
2. The defense of the bill will sound reassuring and reasonable.
3. A big crowd will be there early on — but the Church needs Catholics to come later on, too.
4. We can win this, if we fight.
Ladies – encourage your husbands to make the trip up there after work. I know it’s certainly not something to look forward to after a long day at work, but it is Lent after all!
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Joseph Susanka, at InsideCatholic.com quotes from Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court:
“…these missionaries would gradually, and without creating suspicion or exciting alarm, introduce a rudimentary cleanliness among the nobility, and from them it would work down to the people, if the priests could be kept quiet. This would undermine the Church. I mean would be a step toward that. Next, education—next, freedom—and then she would begin to crumble. It being my conviction that any Established Church is an established crime, an established slave-pen, I had no scruples, but was willing to assail it in any way or with any weapon that promised to hurt it.”
That should fire everyone up before they head to Hartford tomorrow!
And lastly, check out Don Pesci’s blog, where he joins the Catholic League in calling for the impeachment of not only Archbishop Lawlor and Bishop McDonald, but also that of Pope Blumenthal himself!
http://www.donpesci.blogspot.com/2009/03/impeach-pope-blumenthal-archbishop.html
The Other Marys will be covering the hours from at least noon through 5pm with recitation of the Most Holy Rosary every 15 minutes, so for those who make it to Hartford, know that you are in our prayers and in Our Lady’s capable hands!
Ave Maria!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE…ALL PEOPLES OF RELIGIOUS FAITH, PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN BRETHREN. CONTINUE TO CALL OR WRITE OR E-MAIL THE CT LEGISLATORS AND GOVERNOR REGARDING S.B.1098, AND ATTEND THE PUBLIC HEARING ON MARCH 11.
THIS IS SPECIFICALLY AN ATTACK AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, BUT IN GENERAL IT IS THE SLIPPERY SLOPE TO VIOLATION OF FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS AGAINST ALL PEOPLE OF FAITH.
AVE MARIA! AIRMARIA FOR BEING THERE!
GOD BLESS US, JESUS HAVE MERCY, MOTHER MARY PROTECT US.
As a Roman Catholic of the old school I am deeply upset by the Connecticutt legislators’ attempt to bring the Catholic Church, or any church, to bow to political control. I am, though, not surprised. This move was inevitable given the election of Barack Obama, a man I truly believe to be the anti-Christ. Our constitution will now be open to pillage by the president’s rabid followers, including most of the broadcast and written media. We are already at the point when American citizens are fearful of openly criticizing the current administration. Being confined by financial considerations–o.k., I’m poor– I cannot attend any activity in Connecticutt to show my opposition to this legislation. All I can do is warn every other religious group, every church, in our nation to watch this issue very carefully, and remember that state control of religion has historically been one of the first visible acts of the road to fascism and the loss of ALL our freedoms.