In today’s Courant, Dave Altimari has a good background piece explaining the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport’s lawsuit against the State of Connecticut.
In March, more than 4,000 Catholics descended on the Capitol to protest Bill 1098, which proposed having lay councils of seven to 13 people oversee the finances of local parishes, relegating Catholic pastors and bishops to an advisory role.
Church officials were sharply critical of the bill and organized the rally and, on their website, asked parishioners to contact their local legislators to protest the plan.
The bill was eventually withdrawn amid questions about its constitutionality.
But the issue did not end there. About a month later, church officials received a letter from the Office of State Ethics informing them that they were the “subject of an Office of State Ethics evaluation” to ascertain whether the diocese had violated state statutes by failing to register as a lobbyist before the rally.
In the letter, Thomas K. Jones, an ethics enforcement officer, said that the evaluation was only preliminary and did not necessarily mean that a formal complaint would be filed against the church.
Jones said that the diocese was being investigated for possible violations of three state statutes — failing to register as a lobbyist, failing to submit all appropriate lobbyist filings and failing to follow all applicable registration procedures.
We’re alarmed by the State action and can’t see why the Catholic Church or any church body would need to register as a lobbyist before urging its constituents to act as… well, citizens!
Bishop Lori stated on the Bridgeport Diocese website,
“The Diocese is not a registered lobbyist and does not devote itself primarily to legislative or political matters,” Bishop Lori continued. “Nonetheless, from time to time, the Diocese’s religious mission compels me and the pastors within the Diocese to take stands, consistent with our religious beliefs, on legislation that concerns the moral issues of the day, and to urge our parishioners to act on the basis of Church teachings. We communicate these messages to our parishioners through the Diocese’s website, in newsletters, at Mass and other religious services, and through a variety of other means.”
That’s very well stated in our opinion. Nothing could be more natural than a religious organization providing religious guidance to its adherents who pose moral and ethical questions to the religious organization.
Must churches keep silent on anything the State defines as political? The history of the 20th century shows that such a policy is a major building block of any tyrannical system.
Resources related to this story:
Complaint against the State of Connecticut, May 29, 2009 (PDF)
Pastoral Letter from Bishop Lori (PDF)
