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A crowd gathers on the State Capitol's north lawn to protest Senate Bill 1098 |
A crowd of angry people descended
on the State Capitol last week to protest an ill-conceived
legislative proposal to let the General Assembly dictate
how the Roman Catholic Church runs its Connecticut parishes.
It is clear to them – and to thousands more who
could not come to Hartford - that Senate Bill 1098,
An Act Modifying Corporate Laws Relating To Certain Religious
Corporations, is unconstitutional and an assault
on religious freedom and, even worse, an attack on one
specific religion.
I share their displeasure. Specifically, this proposed
legislation calls for replacing financial and administrative
control of Roman Catholic churches by Bishops and pastors
with that of boards of directors consisting of lay people
elected from the parishes. Pastors would retain their
religious authority, but would report to their boards
of directors with respect to financial and administrative
matters. The state Attorney General would be given broad
investigatory powers with respect to claims that money
contributed to a Roman Catholic Church has been misappropriated.
Keep in mind that Connecticut already has laws on
the books to investigate and prosecute fraud and embezzlement.
The state’s prosecution of cases involving financial
improprieties at churches has been widely publicized.
The very idea that Connecticut’s Roman Catholics
need the General Assembly to protect them by passing
special anti-fraud, anti-embezzlement legislation targeting
their parishes is condescending and absurd.
Furthermore, keep in mind that Roman Catholics have
the same rights as everyone else in our nation to choose
the churches at which they worship. The Roman Catholic
Church is a hierarchy, and all facets of its operation
are spelled out in Church laws that its members freely
obey. The internal operations of individual parishes
fall under these Church laws. Clearly, proposed legislation
that is intended to rewrite the Roman Catholic Church’s
laws with respect to the administration of its parishes
in Connecticut is blatantly unconstitutional.
Much has been said about the possible motivation of
the legislators who proposed Senate Bill 1098. I understand
the temptation to speculate – but, really, it
does not matter why some legislators felt the need to
write this bill. What does matter is that Connecticut
citizens – not all of them Roman Catholic –
understand the danger of this proposed legislation and
acted swiftly to make their opposition known. What matters
is that several state legislators – again, not
all of them Roman Catholic – also understand the
danger of this proposed legislation and quickly vowed
to do everything in their power to make sure that it
never becomes law.
Like many Connecticut citizens, I was delighted when
the Judiciary Committee’s scheduled public hearing
on this proposed legislation was cancelled due to questions
about its constitutionality. The day before the scheduled
hearing, I stood with many other Republican legislators
at a press conference that we called to express our
opposition to the bill as an assault on religious freedom.
However, despite assurances that Senate Bill 1098
is dead, at least for now, Connecticut’s Roman
Catholic citizens still wanted – and deserved
– the opportunity to express their concerns and
express their outrage at this unwarranted attack. They
travelled to Hartford in buses and cars to rally at
the State Capitol, undeterred by the damp, drizzly,
weather. Hundreds stayed to speak at the informational
forum organized by Republican legislators – and
attended by several Democrats - after the Judiciary
Committee public hearing was cancelled.
I was impressed and humbled by the eloquence of the
people who spoke in defense of their rights as United
States citizens to worship as they see fit. I was moved
by my fellow Roman Catholic citizens who spoke out for
their religion and their parishes. As an American citizen
and a state legislator, I am proud to stand with them
in opposition to Senate Bill 1098.
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