Diocese of Bridgeport – Page 2

Fan the Fire 2009

The group photo of Fan the Fire 2009!

(Can you find me?)

Fan the Fire is now an annual youth rally hosted by St. Rose of Lima Church (Newtown,CT) in conjunction with the Diocese of Bridgeport. 2009 was the fourth time Fan the Fire was held. This youth rally reminds me of a mini world youth day in the sense that there are hundreds of teenagers present; there’s Mass, Confession, Eucharistic Adoration, presentations on the faith, small and large group discussions and an opportunity for friendship. Numbers were down this year: only 500 youth from the Diocese registered with some coming from the neighboring Archdiocese of Hartford.

The day together was electric. You could feel the enthusiasm and zeal of the teens in attendance. They were there not because of some obligation but there was a desire in their hearts to be together for each other, for themselves and for Christ and the Church. The rally while a bit large and seemingly unwieldy was well done: I believe it was a time for all to meet Christ.

Bishop William Lori spent Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening with Fan the Fire participants. He gave two presentations and led two Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction services and celebrated Mass. Priests from around the diocese heard confessions and lent a hand in teaching.

All of this would not be possible without the assistance of Msgr Robert Weiss and many, many of the parishioners, Sisters and Knights of Columbus of St Rose!

Newtown, CT Knights dedicated new space: Moritz Hall

On Saturday August 16th Bishop Lori blessed the grounds of
the new Council 185 Meeting and Storage building which will be named Moritz
Hall.

The Moritz Hall derives its name from PGK Len Moritz who has been a major
force assuring completion of this four year project.

The hot day was part of a
Saint Rose of Lima (Newtown, CT) hosted Fan the Fire Youth Rally. Over 600 teens from all
over the diocese spent the day participating in renewal, witness and
confession. The day ended with a sunset Mass celebrated by Bishop Lori,
Monsignor Robert Weiss and a host of concelebrants. Vivat Jesus!

ACLU sides with Bridgeport Diocese

Rarely does one see the ACLU agree with the Catholic Church never mind agree with a local Church prelate on constitutional matters. Here the officials of Diocese of Bridgeport can justifyably claim that they were correct in their reading of the First Amendment and stating that they’re not a lobbyist. The ACLU runs contrary to Carol Carson of the State of Connecticut Ethics Committee’s ascertion that the Diocese violated state law. The CT Post ran a story today (of course it was not on page one).

In its filed brief the ACLU stated: “The Supreme Court, keenly aware of the need to carve out a protected zone, for petitioning activity, that lobbying statutes cannot reach, has defined lobbying narrowly, as involving only ‘direct communications with members of the [legislature]’ or indirect communications occurring ‘through an artificially stimulated letter campaign.” The brief backs up my thinking that a clearer definition of what a lobbyist is and how a lobbyist works in congress is needed. The governor’s office or one of legislators ought to propose a revision of existing law so as not to bog down the good work of the State in the future. I wonder how money was spent on this foolish exercise!

Nevertheless, there remains a lot of work to do on the education front: What is the purpose of the Catholic Church, how does it engage in the public square and what is a believing Catholic’s response, how do people of good will mobilize to express regret with their lawmakers?

Connecticut Catholics might be…

… forced to keep quiet by the State if the current law on lobbying stands. States officials in the Ethics Office are applying an unjust law to the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport; if the Catholics today, other Christian groups, Jews and Muslims tomorrow. As Bishop Lori correctly states, the Diocese of Bridgeport is not a lobbyist but a church. And as a church is the bishops and priests are called upon to teach, govern and to sanctify. The SB 1098 and other state bills that seek to change the mission of the Church violates constitutional freedoms. This is a matter, therefore, of all people’s First Amendment rights, not just about the rights of Catholics to exercise their freedom to speak and assemble publicly. Efforts now must begin to work for the current rules for lobbyists to be changed and the ruling of the Ethics Office overturned. Civil and intelligent discourse please! The Fox News report is interesting because it reports the claim that the officials in the Ethics Office are objective. Hmmm, I don’t see the evidence of that in this case. So, I can’t say that I believe for one minute that the CT State Office of Ethics is content neutral, particularly when it comes to the Roman Catholic Church in Connecticut, and more so when it comes to Bishop William Lori.

Fox news reports

Connecticut State Ethics Office charges Diocese of Bridgeport violated law

Connecticut State Officials try to muzzle the Church! In a letter to the people of the Diocese of Bridgeport today, Bishop William Lori states that the gathering of people to protest Bill 1098 that would violate the First Amendment, was a violation of law. The State of Connecticut Ethics committee said this mobilizing of the people amounted to “lobbying” because the Diocese failed to register as a lobbyist (which would invite State regulation). Now the claim is that the Diocese is subject to penalties.

Exhorting the people, i.e., giving information to the people, encouraging the people to take part in democracy, forming the consciences of the people from the pulpit, web-based materials and rallying does not constitute lobbying.

Nutmegers need to contact the State legislator before the end of the legislative session this coming Wednesday.

The Diocese of Bridgeport is filing a civil rights lawsuit in Federal Court against the State of Connecticut seeking relief from government action on this ruling.

For more information see the Diocese of Bridgeport website.

The priest

Bishop William Lori ordained two men to the diaconate today; they’ll be ordained priests next year. Saturday, May 16, the Bishop ordains six men to the priesthood. These are happy days for the diocese of Bridgeport. So, I was thinking about the priesthood and what it means. While there are vast amounts of literature on nature of the priesthood, I thought Saint John Vianney would be an appropriate sounding board for today.

The
priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he
does not administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not for himself, he is for
you. After God, the priest is everything. Leave a parish twenty years without
priests; they will worship beasts. If the missionary Father and I were to go
away, you would say, “What can we do in this church? there is no Mass; Our Lord
is not longer there: we may as well pray at home.” When people wish to destroy
religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer
any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice
there is no religion.

Saint
John-Mary Vianney, The Little Catechism of the Cure of Ars

Remember, Lord, Father Joseph Linck

Remember, Lord, those who have died … especially the Reverend Father Joseph Charles Linck, whom today you have called to you from this life …”

Today, in Trumbull, Connecticut, the Church mourned the passing of Father Joseph
Linck, 43, who succumbed to cancer last week. The Most Reverend William Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, celebrated the Sacrifice of the Mass with the Order of Christian Burial for Father Linck. About 125 priests concelebrated the Mass.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Father Linck and for the Diocese of Bridgeport. In your charity, please keep his parents and friends in prayer. Father Linck was a very kind man, talented and a man of the Church; from personal experience I can say he was a man of good humor and compassion for human nature. This summer, two young-ish priests died, Linck and Fitzpatrick, both good friends. So, a prayer for vocations would be good, too.

May his memory be eternal.