By Kathleen Gilbert
BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut, July 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Connecticut's Office of State Ethics has dropped its investigation into the local Catholic diocese's protest against proposed legislation to restructure the Church's internal governance, after the state attorney general condemned the “serious constitutional concerns” posed by the investigation.
The Catholic diocese of Bridgeport had filed a lawsuit against the ethics office after it said it would investigate whether the church had violated the Code of Ethics by urging constituents in March to protest Raised Bills 899, which legalized same-sex “marriage,” and 1098, which proposed an internal restructuring of the Church.
In the first bill, the diocese was successful in securing language to protect religious groups' right not to endorse homosexual “marriage.”
The latter bill proposed to strip Catholic bishops of corporate governance of their diocese and instead appoint a lay council to attend to the church's financial concerns.
That bill, which critics decried as deeply unconstitutional and a retaliation for the Church's stance against same-sex “marriage,” was proposed a day before the “marriage” bill and scheduled for a public hearing less than a week later. The move prompted Catholic bishops to hastily call upon Catholics to protest at the hearing, where thousands came to voice their opposition.
Several weeks later the Office of State Ethics, which regulates lobbying in conformity with the state's code of ethics, issued a letter to the Bridgeport diocese indicating it was suspected of having protested the legislation illegally, as it had not registered for lobbyist status.
If found in violation of the laws, the diocese would have been subjected to sanctions including monetary fines.
In response, Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport filed a civil lawsuit against the office in early June, calling it unconstitutional to apply the lobbying statute to the diocese “for having exercised its constitutional rights by participating in a rally at the State Capitol and posting information on its website, to protest an unconstitutional attempt by the State to reorganize our Church.”
“The lobbying law of Connecticut is being used to limit free speech, to limit the right of assembly, to limit the freedom of religion, and the freedom of the press,” said Lori at a press conference.
“The citizens of Connecticut should be able to speak their mind about the moral issues of the day, about legislation that affects them, and certainly defend their religious rights, without this kind of intrusion from state government.”
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who was required to issue an opinion to the ethics office in the case, agreed that an ethics inquiry in this instance constituted a threat to the diocese's First Amendment rights.
“There is no denying the profound and serious constitutional concerns in enforcing the lobbyist registration laws against the Church under these circumstances,” wrote Blumenthal in a June 30 letter to Office of State Ethics executive director Carol Carson.
The office immediately announced it would abide by the attorney general's opinion and dropped the investigation, and the diocese in turn dismissed its lawsuit.
Bishop Lori thanked the attorney general for defending the diocese's right to participate in free discussion of governmental affairs.
“[Blumenthal's] opinion is a truly significant announcement that stands not just with our State's Catholics but with all citizens of the State whose fundamental civil liberties were placed in jeopardy by the application by the OSE of the State's lobbying registration requirements,” said Lori on his blog.
“It is essential that citizens have the right to organize and communicate their views to their government without being required to register as lobbyists,” he wrote.
“We are hopeful that the opinion from the Attorney General will allow us to concentrate even more of our energies in meeting the increased demand for social services in our State.”
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Conn. Legislature Moves to Regulate Catholic Church in Suspected “Payback” for Marriage Stance
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030906.html
Conn. Bill Proposing to Restructure Catholic Church Temporarily Tabled, Bishops Still Call for Rally
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09031009.html