Yes, it’s fascism – the deliberate intrusion of the state to impose their worldview and values onto people with different, individual worldviews and values. You see, the state’s religious and moral views are more important than those of individuals. Any organization that teaches different values needs to be taken over by the state – it’s the progressive way.

Gateway Pundit cites this post from The Corner:

The [Democrat]-controlled Judiciary Committee has introduced Raised Bill 1098, a bill aimed specifically at the Catholic Church, which would remove the authority of the bishop and pastor over individual parishes and put a board of laymen in their place.

Hot Air notes that the government cannot legislate against religious organizations with voluntary membership. It is illegal:

According to the First Amendment and the Establishment Clause, the government has no business dictating to religious organizations how they should structure themselves.

Hot Air goes on to explain what the effects of the bill would be:

In other words, bishops would no longer have power over the actions of the parishes.  That’s the Connecticut legislature’s vision of Roman Catholicism, but in America, government doesn’t get to structure religious organizations to suit itself.  That, in fact, is a form of fascism that we routinely decry in other countries.  The State Department objects to China’s insistence on picking Catholic bishops itself to suit their political oppression of religion, and Lawlor’s motion would find a welcome in Beijing as another means to the same end: state control of Catholicism.

So many people toss around the word fascism without understanding what it means. Having the state control churches is fascism.

RedState.com notes that Connecticut’s own Constitution forbids single out any one sect or denomination in legislation.

Before we go any further, let me quote from Article Seventh of the Connecticut state constitution: “It being the right of all men to worship the Supreme Being, the Great Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and to render that worship in a mode consistent with the dictates of their consciences, no person shall by law be compelled to join or support, nor be classed or associated with, any congregation, church or religious association. No preference shall be given by law to any religious society or denomination in the state. Each shall have and enjoy the same and equal powers, rights and privileges, and may support and maintain the ministers or teachers of its society or denomination, and may build and repair houses for public worship.”

LifeSiteNews has an article explaining that this bill is an attempt to pay Catholics back for supporting traditional marriage as the best environment for children. The Maritime Sentry agrees. The left-wing northeastern states have been very hostile to Catholicism lately, even going so far as to effectively ban Catholic adoption agencies for failure to comply with politically correct dogma.

A majority of the Catholic voters voted for Democrats in 2008. They voted 54% to 45% in favor of Barack Obama. What I would like my Catholic readers to explain to me is – Why? How?

UPDATE: I just saw this post over at Deborah Gyapong: Catholic hospitals must perform abortions or be shut down.

UPDATE 2: Nice Deb has ways to take action here.

UPDATE 3: Welcome visitors from the Anchoress! Thanks for the link. More religious liberty here (conscience rule for abortion dissenters) and here (fairness doctrine would affect religious radio broadcasts) and here (stimulus bill discriminates against religious schools). Bonus: free speech in Canada.