Milford's Churches Take Part In 1st Amendment Lawsuit

Friday, May 29, 2009, 3:00 p.m. – In United States District Court today, attorneys representing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport filed a lawsuit against officials of the State of Connecticut Office of State Ethics (OSE), seeking a court order to stop them from an unconstitutional application of state lobbying laws.

These officials are requiring the Diocese – and presumably all other organizations – to register as a lobbyist in order to engage in activities such as a rally at the State Capitol or using its website to encourage its members to contact their elected representatives. Application of the law in this manner would subject the First Amendment rights of Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, and Freedom of Assembly to government oversight and penalties.

First Amendment Response

Bishop William E. Lori stated today, "Following the surprise introduction of Bill 1098, a proposal that singled out Catholic parishes and would have forced them to reorganize contrary to Church law and the First Amendment, our Diocese responded in the most natural, spontaneous, and frankly, American, of ways: we alerted our membership – in person and through our website; we encouraged them to exercise their free speech by contacting their elected representatives; and, we organized a rally at the State Capitol. How can this possibly be called lobbying?"

"This cannot possibly be what our Legislature had in mind when it sought to bring more transparency and oversight to a legislative process that has been corrupted by special interests and back-room deals. If it is, then it should shock the conscience of all citizens of the Constitution State," Bishop Lori added.

Background

On April 23, 2009, the Diocese received a letter from Thomas K. Jones, Ethics Enforcement Officer for the OSE, stating that it was "the subject of an Office of State Ethics evaluation," which was "being conducted to ascertain whether the Diocese had violated [Connecticut General Statutes Sections] 1-94, 1-95 and 1-96 by failing to register as a lobbyist in Connecticut, by failing to submit all other appropriate lobbyist filings, and by failing to follow all applicable registration procedures."

The OSE claims the Diocese acted as a "lobbyist" by: participating in a March 11, 2009, State Capitol rally against Raised Bill 1098 (the unconstitutional attempt to reorganize Catholic parishes contrary to Catholic teaching and tradition); making statements on its website urging its members to contact their elected representatives to oppose Raised Bill 1098; and making statements on its website urging its members to contact their legislators to oppose another bill, Raised Bill 899 (regarding same-sex marriage).

Taking Stands

"I certainly did not consider any of my or the Diocese’s activities in opposing Raised Bill 1098 and seeking religious-freedom amendments to Raised Bill 899 to be 'lobbying,'" Bishop Lori said in an affidavit filed in court today. "In undertaking those activities, the Diocese was merely defending itself from unconstitutional interference by the state. The Diocese was not seeking special treatment or financial advantages from the Connecticut legislature. Never did I imagine that our activities defending ourselves from a government attack on our right of religious self-governance would be met with another government action subjecting our Church to an ‘evaluation’ for those activities!"

"The Diocese is not a registered lobbyist and does not devote itself primarily to legislative or political matters," Bishop Lori continued. "Nonetheless, from time to time, the Diocese’s religious mission compels me and the pastors within the Diocese to take stands, consistent with our religious beliefs, on legislation that concerns the moral issues of the day, and to urge our parishioners to act on the basis of Church teachings. We communicate these messages to our parishioners through the Diocese’s website, in newsletters, at Mass and other religious services, and through a variety of other means."

Court Order

The Diocese maintains that a court order barring the OSE from applying the lobbying laws to the Diocese in this manner is essential to preserving its First Amendment rights.

"I believe the OSE’s extension of the lobbying laws to these activities will interfere with the Diocese's ability to mobilize its members and, if necessary, to urge them to rally at the Capitol, in the event the General Assembly again introduces legislation resembling Raised Bill 1098 or otherwise tries to interfere with the internal workings of the Diocese or its parishes or to attack the Church," Bishop Lori said.

"I believe that an order from the Court barring Mr. Jones and his colleagues at the OSE from applying the lobbying laws to the Diocese in this manner is necessary to enable the Diocese to continue to carry out its mission without fear of incurring civil penalties, exposure to possible criminal prosecution, burdensome administrative requirements, and intrusive oversight by the State," Bishop Lori concluded.

Pope Orders Mass Obedience and Submission To The United Nations

This is one I need to set the record straight on, because I was a bit taken and yet surprised that Pope Benedict is out selling the U.N. to the general public. Aside from the fact that the U.N. is not God and will never have anything to do with God, this oddity of the pope engaging in politics will only serve to further divide those Americans who believe in America and our freedom, both of which the U.N. wants.

While I admired Benedict's up and down apologies for the church child molestation incidents, I was really upset over the church openly selling our country to the U.N. I hope everyone who reads this blog understands and knows that dissolving our countries sovereignty is an illegal and blatant act of treason. According to our Constitution, anyone who surrenders our power to another form of government one that does not recognize a single right granted to us by the Bill of Rights and our U.S. Constitution is guilty of treason. Just remember Benedict Arnold... no pun intended.

To put this into perspective and to quote George Bush, that "goddam piece of paper", as he called it, is what he and all his treasonous cronies swore to uphold. They did so with the blood of our veterans on their hands and as our trusted leaders vowed to defend our constitution, with their hand on the bible. Just pay attention next Presidential inauguration, you will see yet another CFR globalist make the same promise.

Remember that the people featured in the photo below would like to be our "Gods" and only you can be tricked into surrendering our sovereignty and freedom away. However, remember that some "not in the know" are not entirely to blame, because they are so polluted by the televised propaganda in tandem with orchestrated media trite that truth has now become stranger than fiction.

Just know that our founders wise words keep popping up time and again and we constantly find ourselves repeating the same dishonorable behavior, and actions that they warned us against. We have now reached a point where our opinion is of little to no consequence, that the future is about saving America or your personal interest. To help put this into perspective, especially to us Catholics out there, who voted for bush based on his pro-life stance, who knew that he would kill over a million Iraqi's, scrap our constitution, and torture people much like Torquemada of the Spanish inquisition. Think beyond just abortion this time around, when you vote this November, think less about babies and more about saving our liberty. Every American deserves a future free of tyranny and protracted wars!America is not Rome, and Bush is not Ceasar!