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	Arry Cafero on Catholic Church Battle at State Capitol By Christopher Keating Hartford Courant March 9, 2009 http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/03/larry-cafero-on-catholic-churc.html House Republican leader Larry Cafero of Norwalk is criticizing a bill by the Democratic-controlled judiciary committee that would remove Catholic pastors from having control over the finances of their parishes. The bill has created a major political firestorm at the state Capitol, and Cafero says his office has been "swamped" with telephone calls and e-mails. "To say that people are outraged over this proposal to bar the Catholic Church from overseeing its own finances is being charitable," Cafero said. "This bill has provoked a lot of people," Cafero said. He added, "The state of Connecticut is billions of dollars in debt and some Democratic lawmakers want to dictate to the Catholic Church how it manages its finances. That does not make sense to a lot of people." The idea originally came from Greenwich resident Tom Gallagher, who wrote an op-ed piece in The Stamford Advocate that was headlined "Restoring faith in church requires change in laws" in January 2007. The Connecticut Catholic Conference, which lobbies on behalf of the church at the Capitol, was aware of the concept and was not completely blindsided by the idea. Although they were aware of the idea last year, the concept had not yet been codified into a bill until recently. "The Catholic faithful and state legislators need to step forward and craft changes to the Religious Corporation Act that produce a governing structure that allows for the best of the priesthood and the laity to blossom in an environment of mutual respect and understanding," Gallagher wrote. "A governance structure is needed that protects the bishops, pastors, and priests from overreaching laity, while the laity need a structure that makes room for real participation and protection from overreaching bishops, pastors, and priests." Gallagher continued, "Thoughtfully proposed changes to the state law would dramatically improve parish governance because key administrative duties would be dispersed among many talented people, not concentrated entirely in the pastor. Ths would be a tremendous benefit to overtaxed pastors and priests. In this way, the bishop, pastor, and the laity become co-responsible for the parish, enabling all stakeholders to have a fitting role aligned with the gifts of each vocation and enlivened by a right to vote."
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