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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Connecticut Bill Pulled, After a Fashion


From  Inside Catholic

This just in from the Hartford Courant:
A controversial bill that would change the way the Catholic church governs itself has been pulled and a public hearing planned Wednesday on the issue postponed until its constitutionality can be determined.
The bill is off the table for at least the remainder of the current session:
At a press conference this morning at the legislative office building, Tom Gallagher of Greenwich, who has long advocated that lay people be given greater responsibilities within the church, said he has asked Rep. Michael Lawlor and Sen. Andrew McDonald, co-chairmen of the legislature's judiciary committee, to put off the hearing until Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has reviewed the matter.
Lawlor and McDonald agreed. "At the request of the proponents who are advocating this legislation, we have decided to cancel the public hearing for tomorrow [and] table any further consideration of this bill for the duration of this session,'' the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
It's hard for me to see how it could possibly pass a "constitutionality test," so perhaps this issue is behind us already. I'd like to see what Senator McLachlan has to say about this development, though. (Here is a Courant blog post about the cancellation itself that has a few "money" quotes from Lawler and McDonald.)
Many thanks to regular-IC-reader Jen for the heads-up on this one.

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