Brian Brown has since moved on to the the National Organization for Marriage where he spearheaded Proposition 8 against Gay Marriage in California.]

Original Post:

Ave Maria!

This is a special AIRMARIA report on the status of religious liberty in America, relative to the ongoing push on the part of the homosexual lobby for full same-sex marriage in Connecticut. Last year same-sex civil unions were legalized by the state assembly with an amendment defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

In Connecticut, same-sex couples already have all the rights and benefits of married people, just not the name “marriage.” This year they are back for what they call “equality,” but in reality the legalization of same-sex marriage in Connecticut will only codify the defense of traditional marriage as a form of discrimination.

Witness the erosion of your religious liberty! This assault will not stop at the state line. The same-sex marriage lobby wishes to challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act. This affects you, no matter where you live in America.

On March 26, Brian Brown, Executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, testified before the judiciary committee of the state legislature in regard to raised House Bill 7395: An Act Concerning Marriage Equality. He was grilled on the question of commitment to civil rights and his religious convictions. Brian defended both traditional marriage and religious liberty in an eloquent and courageous way. He continues to be attacked on the FIC blog. In this video Brian also tells us what we can do to protect religious liberty.

Don’t underestimate this attack on religious liberty. This has implications for us all. Bill Donohue of the Catholic League has picked up on the threat and is bringing it to national attention. This video is a good synthesis of what happened last Monday.

Ave Maria!

The post Video – News #1 – Religious Liberty Under Fire first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Senate Bill 1098 introduced to the Judiciary Committee

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

Free Republic

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 post News – Calling all Catholics, Especially in Connecticut first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!

Well, we’re going to do it. Yes, the Public Hearing has been canceled by the Democratically controlled Judiciary Committee. I guess they got scared. But, there will be an “informational” hearing (less official) held by the Republicans (to save the day) and also a Catholic rally at the Capitol Building itself starting at noon. The Bishops are encouraging everyone to attend. See Details. We will find out more about what this cancellation means when we get there tomorrow. We will be covering some preliminary events at the Legislative Office Building (LOB) at 11am then the rally at noon, then at 1:30 we will go back to the LOB to cover the hearing, from there we will see how our batteries hold up.

We will have a post on AirMaria in the morning that will have the live video embedded. If AirMaria gets too sluggish then you can go directly to our channel on Ustream.tv at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/airmaria-live although watch out for the adverts and such that we don’t have any control over.

Also, because of this event, we will not have a homily tomorrow.

Keep in mind we have not gotten a chance to go to the capitol to measure cellular and wireless strength so it will be hit or miss. 80% chance of rain, so bring your cyber umbrellas. Those going to the Capitol in person will definitely have a chance to do some Lenten penance in reparation for this political atrocity.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Ave Maria!

The post News – CT Capitol Broadcast will start at 11am first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Take note! If you wonder why such a crazy bill has been introduced, it is widely rumored that it is to distract the attention of the Church and pro family groups from another bill, SB 899, that codifies into law the CT Supreme Court Kerrigan Case that instituted same sex ‘marriage’ in Connecticut. At issue there is the lack of any conscientious objection clauses in the bill and so it directly effects religious liberty and is much more likely to pass. So the emphasis of today will be to keep the Republicans and all citizens focused on SB 899.

Broadcast ended Ave Maria! See post above for more.

The post Live from CT Capitol Bill 1098, Or is it Really about Bill 899? first appeared on AirMaria.com.