Fox News on Connecticut's Hostility toward the Catholic Church

Catholic Online will follow this lawsuit very, very closely. We will keep our readers around the world up to date on its progress.

HARTFORD, Conn. (Catholic Online) - In an article entitled "We're a Church, Not a Lobby, Catholic Bishop Tells Ethics Probers" Fox News reporter Joshua Rhett Miller has called National and International attention to a story which Catholic Online has been following since its inception.

We welcome the prominence caused by this National and international coverage. We also seize the opportunity to once again call attention to this serious threat to the First Amendment protections of Free Speech, Free Assembly, Free Exercise of Religion and the Right to Petition the Government for a redress of grievances. These are fundamental constitutional rights guaranteed for all Americans, includuing the Church.

The heavy handed actions taken by the State of Connecticut against the Diocese of Bridgeport are a violation of those Constitutional rights. The strongarm tactics may also signal a growing hostility of the State toward the Church which threatens the very foundations of freedom in America.

We present a portion of the article which can be found in its entirety at Foxnews, http://www.foxnews.com

"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organization on its Web site when it urged parishioners to contact lawmakers about the bill, which eventually was withdrawn amid public outcry, and about a another bill to legalize same-sex marriage, which was signed into law in April.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.

"Connecticut law defines lobbying as "communicating directly or soliciting others to communicate with any official or his staff in the legislative or executive branch of government or in a quasi-public agency, for the purpose of influencing any legislative or administrative action."

"Individuals or organizations must register as a lobbyist if they spend more than $2,000 per year lobbying. Each violation of the lobbying law is punishable by penalties up to $10,000.

"The diocese acknowledges in its lawsuit that it coordinated transportation to the rally, and that it incurred expenses exceeding $2,000. But that, says the bishop, does not make the church a lobbying organization.

"It seems to me that by requiring a diocese or any other entity to register with the state before it can protest an unfriendly action by the state has a chilling affect," Lori said. "I don't think it's in anyone's interest that a protest rally be labeled lobbying..."

Catholic Online will follow this lawsuit very, very closely. We will keep our readers around the world up to date on its progress by reporting on it regularly. It has far reaching consequences for the Church and the Nation.

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