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.

Variety #210 – Religious Freedom ( 45min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Listen to an informative conference  presented by an attorney deep in the trenches!

Hannah C. Smith is the Senior Counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Her organization was the first in the nation to file lawsuits against the HHS Insurance Mandate on behalf of Belmont Abbey College, Colorado Christian University, EWTN, Ave Maria University, and others.

She recently came to La Crosse, WI to discuss a multitude of growing threats to the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment.

The evening was sponsored by the Diocese of La Crosse, the La Crosse Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, and the Newman Catholic Students of UW-La Crosse.

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – Variety #210: “Unprecedented Threats to American Religious Freedom.” first appeared on AirMaria.com.