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	Diocese Files Suit against State Office Diocese Seeking Court Order WFSB May 29, 2009 http://www.wfsb.com/news/19604222/detail.html BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport filed a lawsuit against the Office of State Ethics on Friday. The diocese is seeking a court order to stop officials at the ethics office from an unconstitutional application of state lobbying laws. The diocese said the officials are requiring the Diocese of Bridgeport to register as a lobbyist in order to engage in activities such as a rally at the State Capitol or using its Web site to encourage its members to contact their elected representatives. Applying the law would subject the First Amendment rights to government oversight and penalties, officials at the diocese said. "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," Bishop William Lori said in a letter on Friday. "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," he said. "If it is, then it should shock the conscience of all citizens of the Constitution State."
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