Important: CT legislature attempts to oppress Catholic Church, Bp. Lori leads response

Connecticut is becoming a flash-point for government oppression of Catholic institutional autonomy. 

I reported extensively on the events which have led to this situation when they began to unfold in early March of this year.

Bishop Lori is not taking this most recent - and most serious - attack lying down:

The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., says he's a man of God, not a lobbyist. But state officials say he's both.

According to the Connecticut Office of State Ethics, the diocese acted as a lobbying organization in March when it rented buses to transport people to a rally in Hartford — the state capital — to protest a bill that would have granted more power to parishioners regarding church finances.

Officials also are investigating whether the church acted as a lobbying organization on its Web site when it urged parishioners to contact lawmakers about the bill, which eventually was withdrawn amid public outcry, and about a another bill to legalize same-sex marriage, which was signed into law in April.

Now the ethics office is "evaluating" whether the diocese failed to register as a lobbyist — an investigation that Bishop William Lori says violates the diocese's First Amendment right to free speech and assembly.

"I don't know what the motive of the Office of State Ethics was or is, but I do know that their actions stem directly from our attempts to defend ourselves in the face of two pieces of legislation that were unfriendly to the day-to-day mission of the church," Lori told FOXNews.com on Thursday.

"We were simply seeking to fulfill our mission, to continue to be ourselves."

And the diocese is fighting back, bringing a civil lawsuit against two Office of State Ethics officials — Enforcement Officer Thomas K. Jones and Executive Director Carol Carson." (FOX News)

Make no mistake, what is happening in Connecticut is also critically important for the Church throughout the United States. I'll be keeping a close eye on this situation as it develops. Keep it tuned here at AmP and also visit the Bridgeport diocese website.

If the Connecticut legislature succeeds in penalizing the Church for acting as a "lobbyist" organization there, the rights of Catholics and Catholic institutions will be endangered elsewhere. We must stop their efforts in their tracks.

Noted: "Catholic Answers sues IRS, alleging ‘intimidation’ on political issues"

I will be watching to see how this situation develops with interest:

The apologetics organization Catholic Answers has filed suit against the Internal Revenue Service claiming the federal tax collection agency has “intimidated” churches and non-profit groups into silence on politically controversial moral issues.

In an announcement posted at the organization’s web site, Catholic Answers president Karl Keating explained that the IRS fined the group for a 2004 e-letter it wrote saying that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry should not be allowed to receive Holy Communion.

Keating charged that Francis Kissling, then-leader of the pro-abortion front group “Catholics for a Free Choice,” had instigated the IRS action with a complaint.

He said Kissling “hated” Catholic Answers’ “Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics,” which aimed to educate Catholics on issues such as abortion. However, the guide did not mention any candidates or political parties and was cleared of any violations by the IRS. (CNA)

Catholics for a Free Choice use bullying tactics?! That's ... very believable.

Update: internal memo by Bishop Cote re: Anti-Catholic CT Bill

Forwarded to me by an AmP reader in response to this story I covered yesterday:

Following are excerpts from an internal communication by Bishop Michael R. Cote

This bill (#1098) is a legislative attack on the governance of the Catholic Church in Connecticut. No other religious organization in the State is mentioned in this bill. It will do irreparable harm to the Church.

Your (pastors and parishioners) assistance is urgently needed. Please help defeat this very harmful repeal of current Connecticut General Statutes.

Attend the hearing on this bill on Wednesday, March 11, 2009, at the Legislative Office Building at the State Capitol. We must show strong opposition to this attempt to interfere in the governance of the Church.

Together on this Second Sunday of Lent, we pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to rebuff attacks on the Church and its leadership so that we may continue to do the Lord’s work by which we give praise to God our Father.

Right on: the double standard of liberals re: PBA decision

Rob Dreher, (the fellow behind Crunchy Cons and one of the regular bloggers at BeliefNet) who I had the pleasure of meeting at a recent conference, hit this one on the head today:

Diogenes at the Catholic World News blogsite observes that when religious believers bring their faith to the public square and reach conclusions that liberals dislike -- in this case, the Catholic justices on SCOTUS and their upholding the partial-birth abortion ban -- we have to furrow our brows and worry about the separation of church and state being breached. But when religious believers do the same thing and reach, or are likely to reach, conclusions approved of by liberals -- as is the case with Barack Obama -- well, the media's got no real problem with that. [More...]