There is proposed legislation in the state of Connecticut that would effectively strip the Catholic Church of all control over its own finances and legal and administrative decisions. Once one denomination falls under the control of the government, which will be next?

The Connecticut legislature introduced via its judiciary committee, with no individual sponsors, in Raised Bill No. 1098, an attempt to revise the religious corporation act by specifically requiring the Catholic Church to open up its financial records.

But if passed into law, the bill would do more than that, effectively taking control of the church from the hands of bishops and priests and handing it over to laypersons who sit on boards. The priests and bishops would have no votes on the boards, making them subservient to the whims, caprices, and decisions of the boards, and effectively tying their hands.

The plan is to have seven to thirteen board members elected annually, serving staggered terms of not more than three years, meeting quarterly with the power to establish and approve budgets, manage financial affairs, oversee audits, develop and implement “strategic plans,” and have all “powers enumerated in section 33-1036,” whatever that entails.

Sec. 3 establishes:

Any person having reason to believe that monetary contributions to a corporation organized under chapter 598 of the general statutes are being misappropriated and not being used for the purpose for which they were given may report that belief to the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall, pursuant to his authority under section 3-125 of the general statutes to represent the public interest in the protection of any gifts, legacies or devises intended for public or charitable purposes, investigate such report and take such action as he deems necessary.

The Connecticut legislature is trying to justify this power grab by pointing to “badly tangled” and mismanaged financial records of some churches. In light of the billions upon billions of waste, fraud, corruption, and unaccountability of bailout funds and other appropriations the federal government and state governments preside over, such concerns become almost laughable.

Democrat Sen. Andrew J. McDonald tried to bolster support for the bill by saying he was asked to introduce it by Catholic constituents who wanted to see more “transparency” relating to church funds: “This has been submitted by parishioners who are devout in their faith,” he said.

The bill would seriously undercut the Catholic Church’s financial hierarchy, removing the authority of bishops, priests, and even the pope. Bridgeport Bishop William E. Lori scathingly said this is an “irrational, unlawful and bigoted bill [that] jeopardizes the religious liberty of our church.”

Lori went on to say:

The state has no right to interfere in the internal affairs and structure of the Catholic Church. This bill is directed only at the Catholic Church, but would someday be forced on other denominations. The state has no business controlling religion. For the state Legislature -- which has not reversed a $1 billion deficit in the fiscal year -- to try to manage the Catholic Church makes no sense. The Catholic Church not only lives within her means, but stretches her resources to provide more social, charitable and educational services than many other private institutions in the state. This bill threatens those services at a time when the state is cutting services.

The bill violates the First Amendment and, by disconnecting parishes from their own pastors and bishops, it also runs contrary to the theology of the Catholic Church. This again raises a question: When a government decides it can make determinations through law regarding the theology of one denomination, how long will it be before that government takes liberties with the teachings of other denominations? Moreover, this action forces a financial reorganization of a private entity -- is nationalization of the Catholic Church and other denominations next, as in Russia and China?

It certainly can be viewed as the first step in minimizing and/or neutralizing, and possibly even silencing, the moral stance of the Catholic Church on issues such as same-sex marriages, abortion, and embryonic stem-cell research. By stacking the boards with lay persons less than amenable to the church's traditions and teachings, it would be very easy to reduce the priests and bishops to less than figureheads.

Any person of any religious denomination should be more than nervous; with the Catholic Church being the first target, it’s only a matter of time before other denominations will fall under the guillotine of state control as well.

Whether, if passed, it will stand up to any rigorous court challenge, remains to be seen. There is one precedent in favor of the church. In a Supreme Court decision pertaining to the Serbian Orthodox Church, it was decided that the Catholic Church did indeed have the authority to decide its own governance. Justice William Brennan wrote, “The church is the entity that decides how it will be organized.”

Where are all those church and state separatists when you need them?

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danwhitehead1 said:

	Where are - - - - - - all those church and state separatists? They are doing what their foolish and cowardly ilk always does after stirring up problems: they are hiding.
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March 11, 2009
Votes: +2

MarkGlen said:

	Jesus said: Matthew 10:34 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." When the fighting stopes the Devil has won.
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March 11, 2009 | url
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RichardR369 said:

	Liberal Socialists The Catholics should be throwing liberal socialists onto the streets until they repent. 54% voted for Obama even though they said they were 'anti-abortion'. They can say one thing and do another. But then again, they were after other socialist issues prohibited by our Founding Fathers which may have driven them to vote for Obama.
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March 12, 2009
Votes: +2

Ann Shibler said:

... The Connecticut bill has since been withdrawn. Senator Andrew McDonald and Rep. Michael Lawlor, chairs of the Judiciary Committee who introduced the bill are prominent homosexuals who have spoken out against the Catholic Church's opposition to civil unions and same-sex marriages. It's no wonder then, that their motivation for pushing such a bill is under suspicion. The four thousand who rallied in support of the First Amendment and the unconstitutional bigoted attack have achieved victory, at least for now. But eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.

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March 12, 2009
Votes: +6

Tenn Slim said:

	Catholic Church domination All A rec letter from the Conn. Gov. says he has had the legislation withdrawn from the Legistlature committee. Outraged that the bill was ever in Committee. A Fox News spot helped the movement to end this farce. end
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March 12, 2009
Votes: +1