Catholic Transcript Online

HARTFORD – As Connecticut’s 2009 legislative session nears a close, spokespeople for the state’s Catholic bishops say input by Catholics has had a positive effect on several initiatives.

"I look at the session as having a number of accomplishments," said Michael C. Culhane, executive director of Connecticut Catholic Conference (CCC), the public policy office for the state’s bishops. Most notably, he said, S.B. 1098, the bill that would have stripped bishops and pastors of governing powers over parish activities, was withdrawn in March because the Catholic population rose up in protest.

But there were nine other major initiatives of interest to Catholics this session, and most of them ended well, he said.

Also in March, S.B. 1138, a bill that would have permitted doctor-assisted suicide – the so-called "Death with Dignity" bill – was voted down in the Judiciary Committee. "Death with Dignity was pulled because the legislature realized how outraged the Catholic population was," Mr. Culhane said.

He added that a bill that would have extended the statute of limitations for certain cases of sexual abuse also never came up for a vote. H.B. 6532 was raised in response to allegations of abuse by a physician, now dead, who worked for St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. Several lawsuits have been levied against the hospital by alleged victims. Mr. Culhane said, "The Church’s obvious interest in the legislative process was there and we opposed the statute of limitations extension."

S.B. 899, the same-sex marriage bill, passed in April after CCC fought successfully to include guarantees of religious freedoms. "Our interest was to preserve religious liberties. We were successful," Mr. Culhane said.

A bill that would have offered protections to transgendered individuals included a provision that would have protected religious institutions, at CCC’s request. S.B. 6452 failed to make it out of the Judiciary Committee by the deadline. Deacon David Reynolds, CCC’s legislative liaison, said, "The bill is dead unless it comes up as an amendment."

H.B. 6245, a bill that would implement recommendations of the Task Force on Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities, was making slow progress in early May, said Mr. Culhane, who was a member of the task force. Late in the month, Deacon Reynolds said a vote could come soon. "They’re trying to eliminate funding requirements," he said. "We tried to make that bill revenue neutral so it wouldn’t affect the budget."

H.B. 6578, a bill to abolish the death penalty, passed the House of Representatives 90-56 on May 13 and headed for the Senate. "The Church and other groups have been getting the message out," Deacon Reynolds said. "This process takes years, but this is a major step forward." Measures in previous years to eliminate the death penalty had failed to come to a vote.

H.B. 6600, a bill to establish Sustinet as a universal health care plan, was moving toward a vote in the House toward the end of May. Deacon Reynolds said, "The bill has been modified so the first two years will be planning, so it won’t have an immediate effect on the budget."

S.B. 283, which would establish a business tax credit for donations to scholarship funds for Catholic and other private institutions, was moving slowly, Mr. Culhane said. "We believe that this bill would save the state money," he said, citing the example of a similar Florida bill. "If the legislators accept that, I think the bill will be received positively. My fingers are crossed," he said.

A setback was the failure of H.B. 5913 to make it to a public hearing. That bill would have required counseling for females under 18 years of age who are seeking abortions. Currently counseling is required only for females under 16 years of age.

All in all, "I think we have a pretty good record," Mr. Culhane said.