Connecticut Bill on Restructuring Catholic Parishes Pulled

There has been a great deal of wailing and gnashing of teeth among the Christianists and Kool-Aid drinking Catholics about a bill introduced into the Connecticut Legislature which would have modified the laws allowing Catholic parishes to incorporate. A draft of the bill can be found here. While the bill would have restricted the ability of diocesan bishops to control parish property and activities, the bill would also have provided shelter to protect parish facilities owned by an incorporated parish to avoid liability for debts of the diocese which would be a separate legal entity - particularly large monetary debts arising from sex abuse lawsuits resulting from lax supervision and cover ups by the Church hierarchy.

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Typically, most states consider property of parishes to be owned by the diocese and controlled by the bishop. This sets the stage where even though parishioners raise money for and finance the parish, the diocese controls the assets which could be subjected to a judgment against the diocese. Publications like OneNewsNow and the Christian Post and jerks like William Donohoe of the Catholic League have been hysterical over the proposal and foaming at the mouth. One NewsNow - which always depicts Christians as being persecuted rather than the persecutors that they are in reality - even went so far as to describe the bill as follows:

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"The two co-chairs of the committee -- incredibly powerful men, Representative Mike Lawlor and Senator Andrew McDonald -- are the two openly gay legislative champions of same-sex 'marriage,'" he notes, "so this does feel like it's a sort of revenge, a payback against the church for leading the fight against same-sex marriage." Wolfgang believes backers of the bill are angry with groups who helped advertise and support Proposition 8 to protect traditional marriage in California. Among those groups was the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization.

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As the Harford Courant is reporting, the bill has been pulled from consideration. Given the misrule that has gone on in most dioceses and the Vatican sponsored cover up of the sexual abuse of minors, the bill is probably a good idea to protect innocent parishes. Here are some highlights from the Courant:

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More than 4,000 Catholics from around the state stood in the drizzle on the north lawn of the state Capitol this morning to protest a bill that would have changed the way the church governs itself.The bill, initially scheduled for a public hearing today before the legislature's judiciary committee, was pulled amid questions over its constitutionality.

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John Garvey, dean of Boston College's law school, said that the bill as drafted is, indeed, unconstitutional."It violates the First Amendment rule that the legislature cannot dictate the structure of church government," Garvey said.It's also unconstitutional for a second reason: the bill as drafted singles out the Catholic church.

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The bill would have would have created lay councils of seven to 13 people to oversee the finances of local parishes, relegating Catholic pastors and bishops to an advisory role. It quickly became the most contentious issue of the 2009 legislative session.

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McDonald said the bill came about after conversations with a constituent seeking a greater role for the laity within the Catholic Church. That constituent, Tom Gallagher of Greenwich, said he was motivated by his love of the church and concern over declining membership, the priest sexual-abuse scandals, parish closings and two cases of financial impropriety at churches in Fairfield County.