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Posted on 03/08/2009 12:28:29 PM PDT by tcg
“This past Thursday, March 5, the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut State Legislature, which is chaired by Sen. Andrew McDonald of Stamford and Rep. Michael Lawlor of East Haven, introduced a bill that directly attacks the Roman Catholic Church and our Faith.
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. This is contrary to the Apostolic nature of the Catholic Church because it disconnects parishes from their Pastors and their Bishop. Parishes would be run by boards from which Pastors and the Bishop would be effectively excluded.
This bill, moreover, is a thinly-veiled attempt to silence the Catholic Church on the important issues of the day, such as same-sex marriage.
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 could someday be forced on other denominations. The State has no business controlling religion.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholic.org ...
This is incredible! Aren't the legislators afraid that the Catholics will rise up and squash them?
Or are there nothing but Catholics In Name Only left in Connecticut, who will be only too happy to have the Church governance taken away from the bishops and put in THEIR hands?
Alarming. From a very quick read at the link, I am unable to determine what started the move. (There is a lot of extraneous information there.)
Is this over FOCA? Abortion? Same sex unions? Tax exemption? Denying Communion to politicians? What right do they think they have?
I would have liked to read about the proposed law - very little of it is mentioned in the article.
>What right do they think they have?<
The same rights that the Chicoms have in determining which Catholic Church is acceptable in China.
Gay “marriage.” McDonald is gay (Lawlor may be, too) and recently “married” his boyfriend. The gay marriage law was firmly opposed by the Church last year, although it ended up being imposed anyway. In any case, this is widely considered to be pay-back for the Church’s opposition.
He just simply got together with that awful “VOTF” and found a mutually beneficial way of attacking the Church. Voice of the Faithful is a raving lefty Catholic organization that Catholics should not be allowed to join. I think they foresee the day when a split occurs in the Catholic Church in the US, between people who remain loyal to the Pope and people who follow Obama and the government as their leader. (Think Chinese Patriotic Church...) They want to be able to position themselves to take the property with the least amount of difficulty possible, and this would certainly make it easier.
Some more details would be helpful, such as the bill number(s) and the exact requirements. Lot of huffing and puffing in the article, but not a lot to go on.
The fascists in America are taking over. The state voted for Change, well now live with it.
Change You Can Believe In.
If people there wanted freedom they wouldn’t vote these tyrants in to office.
Catholic and CT ping.
“Constitution State” my butt...
However, unfortunately, most of their employed staff are hard corp liberals and Unionized Socialists.
Maybe this will wake them up?
Apparently that “wall of separaion of church and state” has has some big ole doors that only open in one direction.
There would be no rising nor squashing.
The bill establishes that Catholic churches in the state shall have a board of directors made up of 7 to 13 lay members elected by the congregation. The bishop or his designee shall be an ex-officio non-voting member.
All general administration and financial functions of the parish fall to the authority of the board including, establishing the budget, developing and implementing strategic plans and developing outreach plans and services to the community. Under the bill, the pastor would report to the board on all financial and administrative matters.
The bill says it leaves in tact the authority of the bishop or pastor “in matters pertaining exclusively to religious tenets and practices.”
I found the above at http://catholickey.blogspot.com/2009/03/trusteeism-bill-introduced-in.html
They do not understand that the Catholic Church is a paternalistic organization. Giving any authority to “lay members elected by the congregation” would liken our Church to all the others that have broken from our Church. The TRUTH must come from God and nothing is negotiable! A DEAR priest at my parish in Dallas would’ve been ousted had the parish thugs had their way with the Bishop! I just shudder at the thought!
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This might be part of the effort to allow gays to marry in the Church. A liberal priest would be free to do what he wanted, and the bishop’s only choice would be t o defrock him.
Diocesan Statement
This past Thursday, March 5, the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut State Legislature, which is chaired by Sen. Andrew McDonald of Stamford and Rep. Michael Lawlor of East Haven, introduced a bill that directly attacks the Roman Catholic Church and our Faith.
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. This is contrary to the Apostolic nature of the Catholic Church because it disconnects parishes from their Pastors and their Bishop. Parishes would be run by boards from which Pastors and the Bishop would be effectively excluded.
This bill, moreover, is a thinly-veiled attempt to silence the Catholic Church on the important issues of the day, such as same-sex marriage.
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 could someday be forced on other denominations. The State has no business controlling religion.
The Pastors of our Diocese are doing an exemplary job of sound stewardship and financial accountability, in full cooperation with their parishioners.
For the State Legislature — which has not reversed a $1 billion deficit in this 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 any other private institution in the State. This bill threatens those services at a time when the State is cutting services. The Catholic Church is needed now more than ever.
We reject this irrational, unlawful, and bigoted bill that jeopardizes the religious liberty of our Church.
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General Assembly |
Raised Bill No. 1098 |
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January Session, 2009 |
LCO No. 4528 |
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*04528_______JUD* |
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Referred to Committee on Judiciary |
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Introduced by: |
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(JUD) |
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AN ACT MODIFYING CORPORATE LAWS RELATING TO CERTAIN RELIGIOUS CORPORATIONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 33-279 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2009):
(a) A corporation may be organized in connection with any Roman Catholic Church or congregation in this state, by filing in the office of the Secretary of the State a certificate signed by the archbishop or bishop and the vicar-general of the archdiocese or of the diocese in which such congregation is located and the pastor and two laymen belonging to such congregation, stating that they have so organized for the purposes hereinafter mentioned. [Such archbishop or bishop, vicar-general and pastor of such congregation and, in case of the death or other disability of the archbishop or bishop, the administrator of the archdiocese or diocese for the time being, the chancellor of the archdiocese or diocese and the pastor of such congregation shall be members, ex officio, of such corporation, and, upon their death, resignation, removal or preferment, their successors in office shall become such members in their stead. The two lay members shall be appointed annually, in writing, during the month of January from the lay members of the congregation by a majority of the ex-officio members of the corporation; and three members of the corporation, of whom one shall be a layman, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.]
(b) The corporation shall have a board of directors consisting of not less than seven nor more than thirteen lay members. The archbishop or bishop of the diocese or his designee shall serve as an ex-officio member of the board of directors without the right to vote.
(c) The members of the board of directors shall be elected from among the lay members of the congregation at an annual meeting of the corporation. The members of the board of directors shall serve for staggered terms of not more than three years. The members of the board of directors shall owe a fiduciary duty to the corporation and the members of the congregation.
(d) The board of directors shall meet at least quarterly. A majority of the members of the board of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Notice of the meetings of the board of directors shall be sent by mail or electronic mail to each member of the board of directors and be delivered or published in a manner likely to come to the attention of a majority of the members of the congregation.
(e) The general administrative and financial powers of the corporation shall be exercised by or under the authority of the board of directors. Such powers shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) Establishing and approving budgets;
(2) Managing the financial affairs of the corporation;
(3) Providing for the auditing of the financial records of the corporation;
(4) Developing and implementing strategic plans and capital projects;
(5) Developing outreach programs and other services to be provided to the community; and
(6) Any of the powers enumerated in section 33-1036.
(f) The pastor of the congregation shall report to the board of directors with respect to administrative and financial matters.
(g) Any member of the corporation is entitled to inspect and copy, during regular business hours at the corporation's principal office, any of the business records of the corporation including accounting records and financial statements of the corporation if such member gives the corporation written notice of his demand at least five business days before the date on which he wishes to inspect and copy.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, restrict or derogate from any power, right, authority, duty or responsibility of the bishop or pastor in matters pertaining exclusively to religious tenets and practices.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2009) The provisions of section 33-279 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, shall apply to all corporations in existence on January 1, 2010, that were organized under subpart D of part II of chapter 598 of the general statutes prior to said date.
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2009) 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.
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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Section 1 |
October 1, 2009 |
33-279 |
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Sec. 2 |
October 1, 2009 |
New section |
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Sec. 3 |
October 1, 2009 |
New section |
Statement of Purpose:
To revise the corporate governance provisions applicable to the Roman Catholic Church and provide for the investigation of the misappropriation of funds by religious corporations.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]
Beginning of the persecutions of Christians?
Just starting with the Catholics, but coming to a Protestant Church near you soon.
Obomanible Obama.
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