Spring Break
Only misinformed Catholics protested finance bill
Bryan Murphy
Issue date: 3/26/09 Section: Commentary
With "news" commentators like Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann outrating their reporter counterparts and the blogosphere threatening to subsume traditional newspapers, opinion is the new fact. And hell, seeing as how I make a buck off the trend well enough, I guess I can't complain. But give me one indulgence: If I say some pretty stupid stuff in this column, at least it's obsessively-researched stupid stuff.
But what with the ease of Google, I'm still slightly surprised by the number of people willing to clamber up onto their modernized Dolby Digital Soapbox 2.0s without having made a reasonable effort to insure that they know what they're talking about. Take Connecticut's most recent Catholic blow-up, wherein thousands of angry Catholics stormed Hartford to protest a proposed bill that Bishop Lori of Bridgeport called a "thinly-veiled attempt to silence the Catholic Church." The nefarious bill would have forced the Church to make its financial control democratic and public. Its anti-religious impetus was a desire to prevent fiascos, such as the recent case of a Darien pastor who swiped over $1.3 million dollars from his parish so as to buy French jewelry, fast cars and hot vacations for himself and his live-in gay lover.
Wait - you didn't hear about the Darien thing? It probably didn't get a whole lot of press; the Catholic Church is less concerned with gay priests stealing money from their parishioners to buy sports cars than with the threat of public audits and democratic finances.
The now-infamous Bill 1098 simply proposed changes to laws currently on the Connecticut books, laws allowing "any Roman Catholic Church or congregation in this state" to organize a corporation for the control of the Church or congregation's finances.
Those Catholics who breathlessly denounced the unconstitutionality of a law targeting a specific religious denomination might want to note that Connecticut's current laws concerning "Religious Corporations" date from 1949 - and there are Connecticut statutes specifically concerning not only Catholics, but also Methodists, Episcopalians, Augustan Lutherans, plain Lutherans and United Methodists too.
But what with the ease of Google, I'm still slightly surprised by the number of people willing to clamber up onto their modernized Dolby Digital Soapbox 2.0s without having made a reasonable effort to insure that they know what they're talking about. Take Connecticut's most recent Catholic blow-up, wherein thousands of angry Catholics stormed Hartford to protest a proposed bill that Bishop Lori of Bridgeport called a "thinly-veiled attempt to silence the Catholic Church." The nefarious bill would have forced the Church to make its financial control democratic and public. Its anti-religious impetus was a desire to prevent fiascos, such as the recent case of a Darien pastor who swiped over $1.3 million dollars from his parish so as to buy French jewelry, fast cars and hot vacations for himself and his live-in gay lover.
Wait - you didn't hear about the Darien thing? It probably didn't get a whole lot of press; the Catholic Church is less concerned with gay priests stealing money from their parishioners to buy sports cars than with the threat of public audits and democratic finances.
The now-infamous Bill 1098 simply proposed changes to laws currently on the Connecticut books, laws allowing "any Roman Catholic Church or congregation in this state" to organize a corporation for the control of the Church or congregation's finances.
Those Catholics who breathlessly denounced the unconstitutionality of a law targeting a specific religious denomination might want to note that Connecticut's current laws concerning "Religious Corporations" date from 1949 - and there are Connecticut statutes specifically concerning not only Catholics, but also Methodists, Episcopalians, Augustan Lutherans, plain Lutherans and United Methodists too.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 6
Ben Winslow
posted 3/26/09 @ 12:20 PM EST
I take offense to this article. If this article, with the same childish demeanor and tone, was pointed towards gays, african-americans, muslims, or any other group that have the means to publicly and loudly defend themselves from vicious attacks in the media, the Daily campus would get bombarded with requests to demand this writer be removed and a formal apology be written. (Continued…)
hrh
posted 3/26/09 @ 12:31 PM EST
Mr Murphy, you've expressed exactly what I've been thinking. These pathetic sheeple want their predator clergy able to continue embezzling their Sunday collection basket contributions. (Continued…)
hrhhrh
hrhhrh
posted 3/26/09 @ 12:38 PM EST
Mr Murphy, you've expressed exactly what I've been thinking. These pathetic sheeple want their predator clergy able to continue embezzling their Sunday collection basket donations. (Continued…)
KMD06003
KD
posted 3/26/09 @ 12:57 PM EST
The only "bit of research" needed here is to subdue the author's very ignorance. The protesters, as well as many community pastors, were well aware the bill was no longer being looked at. (Continued…)
James Hipps
posted 3/26/09 @ 2:00 PM EST
FACT: The Catholic Church is the most corrupt institution throughout all of written history.
Kim O'Brien
posted 3/26/09 @ 11:59 PM EST
I am surprised that the Knights of Columbus didn't ride in on horseback wearing chain mail and carrying jousting poles.
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