The Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly is considering legislation that would restructure Catholic parishes. Senate Bill 1098 directly attacks the Roman Catholic Church in that state. The legislation was scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday, March 11th, at 12:00 noon, in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. That hearing was cancelled but there is to be a rally in Hartford over it.
The Catholic Bishops of Connecticut have stated "This legislation forces a radical reorganization of the legal, financial, and administartive structure of our parishes. This is contrary to the Apostolic nature of the Catholic Church because it disconnects parishes from their Pastors and their Bishops. Parishes would be run by boards from which Pastors and Bishops would be effectively excluded."
What the legislation does:
- Requires the reorganization of only Roman Catholic Parishes. It does not reorganize the structure of any other churches.
- Requires each parish to elect a board of directors to run all the affairs of the parish.
- The Pastor would take all his directions from the board of directors, except on matters of faith, and would be completely answerable to the board.
( In other words, the Pastor would no longer be the leader of the parish. Parishoners with interests, concerns, or recommendations for social ministries
would have to approach and obtain approval of the board of directors and not the Pastor. )
Beyond the structural changes proposed by the legislation, this legislationn raises serious concerns about separation of church and state. Especially when
the legislation is directed at only one specific religious faith community.
Here is the 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. " -- General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1098 Click the link for the full text
Some where along the line, it seems our elected leaders have forgotten a little thing called the 1st Amendment.
