No First Amendment rights for pro-lifers

It used to be that public prayer was protected by our Constitution. But now, under President Obama, two silent abortion protesters, David Avignone, and Joe Holland were arrested for praying the rosary outside a prominent abortion mill in Chicago,

"This arrest was about one thing: trying to scare pro-life people away from Planned Parenthood," said Peter Breen, executive director and legal counsel for the Thomas More Society.

This is not an isolated case, however, but it seems to be part of an intentional campaign to silence protests over abortion.
Recently  Rev Pat Mahoney  had been arrested in June for praying near a Planned Parenthood abortion mill, in Washington DC, but the charges were dropped. According to his attorney they were bogus. He was praying on the sidewalk, which Planned Parenthood has tried to claim as private property, thus the trumped up charges were 'Unlawful entry'.
This is in direct violation of their First Amendment Rights.
IF we don't make noise now, we will be silenced too,
Read the entire story here.
Watch the video below, these men were arrested for "Disorderly conduct". They are standing still and quietly praying, they didn't even talk to people entering the abortion mill, as they are rudely blocked by a so called 'escort',

BIshope Lori's statement on anti-Catholic legislation

Normally, I could feel condident that such a power grab would be reveresed in the Supreme Court, but in today's political climate, I am not so sure. This is unbelievable. yet perhaps just the opening salvo in a true persecution of the Catholic Church. Didn't you see it coming when we elected staunch pro-abortionists into power? The Church, however compromised, is still the archenemy of the current administration, and must be subdued. What the powerful fail to realize is that the Church has seen this before. Not only has she survived, but usually emerges the stronger. In Ireland. In Poland. The sleeping giant of the American laity may have just received their wake up call.

Dear Members of the Gospel of Life Society,

Just when you thought it could not get any worse up in Hartford, it has happened.
Yesterday, Connecticut Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut State Legislature introduced bill #1098/2009 that directly attacks the Roman Catholic Church .Should it pass, the bishop and pastors will be deprived of any administrative, financial and legal power over their parishes.
The Bishop is asking for statements to be read at all the Masses this weekend, and to organize a rally in Hartford on Wednesday. Each parish is to send 5 representatives. I will be leading a group from St. Mary Church in Norwalk. Most likely there will be diocesan buses.
We are asked to contact our legislators, and especially the Judiciary Committee list. Now is the time to act! Stay tuned.

In Christ,
Fr. Greg J. Markey
St. Mary Church,
Norwalk, CT



Diocesan Statement on Proposed Legislative Bill # 1098 / 2009
This past Thursday, the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut State Legislature, which is chaired by Sen. Andrew McDonald of Stamford and Rep. Michael Lawlor of East Haven, introduced a bill that directly attacks the Roman Catholic Church and our Faith.
This bill violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It forces a radical reorganization of the legal, financial, and administrative structure of our parishes. This is contrary to the Apostolic nature of the Catholic Church because it disconnects parishes from their Pastors and their Bishop. Parishes would be run by boards from which Pastors and the Bishop would be effectively excluded.
This bill, moreover, is a thinly-veiled attempt to silence the Catholic Church on the important issues of the day, such as same-sex marriage.
The State has no right to interfere in the internal affairs and structure of the Catholic Church. This bill is directed only at the Catholic Church but could someday be forced on other denominations. The State has no business controlling religion.
The Pastors of our Diocese are doing an exemplary job of sound stewardship and financial accountability, in full cooperation with their parishioners.
For the State Legislature - which has not reversed a $1 billion deficit in this fiscal year - to try to manage the Catholic Church makes no sense. The Catholic Church not only lives within her means but stretches her resources to provide more social, charitable, and educational services than any other private institution in the State. This bill threatens those services at a time when the State is cutting services. The Catholic Church is needed now more than ever.
We reject this irrational, unlawful, and bigoted bill that jeopardizes the religious liberty of our Church.
I urge you to call and e-mail Sen. McDonald and Rep. Lawlor – contact information is available after Mass. I also ask you to come to Hartford this Wednesday, March 11, to be present at the public hearing. Details on bus transportation will be available on Monday in the parish office.
It is up to us to stop this unbridled abuse of governmental power.
It is time for us to defend our First Amendment rights.
It is time for us to defend our Church!
Most Reverend William E. Lori

Good news for timid pastors

Good News: Ninth Circuit Upholds Church's Constitutional Rights
You CAN take a stand on a political issue in church, if even the notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit upholds it.
from Focus on the Family
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a ruling Wednesday that held a Montana church in violation of the law for speaking about the state's marriage amendment.
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed a lawsuit in 2004 after the Montana commissioner of political practices investigated Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church, following a complaint by a homosexual activist group. The group claimed the church was required to register as a political committee in order to speak about the marriage amendment.
"Churches shouldn't be penalized for expressing their beliefs," said ADF Legal Counsel Dale Schowengerdt. "They should never be forced to forfeit their free speech rights just because the government decides to enact unconstitutional laws requiring them to remain silent on social issues."
The court ruled the law is unconstitutionally vague and its application in this case violated the church's First Amendment rights.
— Devon Williams