ACTION ALERT - VERY URGENT !!!
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 our state. The legislation is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday, March 11th, at 12:00 noon, in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.IF AT ALL POSSIBLE PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE PUBLIC HEARING. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND RELIGIUOS FREEDOM IN OUR STATE. It is extremely important that you contact the members of the Judiciary Committee by clicking on the link at the end of this email. Ask them to oppose this legislation, which is a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which guarantees the free exercise of religion.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.Please contact the members of the Judiciary Committee by clicking on the link below and plan to attend the hearing. If your elected State Senator or Representative is not on the Judiciary Committee, please also contact them.
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 our state. The legislation is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday, March 11th, at 12:00 noon, in Room 2C of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.IF AT ALL POSSIBLE PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE PUBLIC HEARING. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND RELIGIUOS FREEDOM IN OUR STATE. It is extremely important that you contact the members of the Judiciary Committee by clicking on the link at the end of this email. Ask them to oppose this legislation, which is a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which guarantees the free exercise of religion.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.Please contact the members of the Judiciary Committee by clicking on the link below and plan to attend the hearing. If your elected State Senator or Representative is not on the Judiciary Committee, please also contact them.
That is absolutely wrong. Do they really think they know how to best run our churches?! We have been able to run our churches our way perfectly well for the last 2,000 years or so. I'm not much of a writer-to-congressmen-in-other-states, but I will pray for them!
ReplyDeleteThis is beyond unConstitutional...the 1st amendment guarantees freedom of religion. Not to mention Separation of Church & State, which means the state stays out of the Church, contrary to popular belief.
ReplyDelete