The Bill in Connecticut goes down...for now

Last night the Bill in Connecticut that would have removed all financial and administrative control from the Bishop and Pastor over Dioceses and Parishes, has been pulled from consideration in the CT Legislature...for this session anyway, according to American Papist.

Video of Local News coverage:

From This article we're led to believe that Tom Gallagher, is a just a devout Catholic and:

Tom Gallagher, a resident of the Riverside section of Greenwich, is the son of a former Catholic schools superintendent who attended law school at the Catholic University of America, worked for the late Mother Teresa's religious order and is a long-time Eucharistic minister at Greenwich Hospital.

He also has met two Popes -- John Paul II in 2001 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2008

So I guess that means he's a saint, pure as the driven snow, or maybe he's just a misunderstood Thomas More. Or not.

One of his fellow parishers writing under the nome de plume of "No Spin" in the comments section relates:

Let it be known that as a member of St. Mary Parish, Greenwich, Mr. Gallagher did not "step down as a Trustee in 1999" he was terminated by the pastor. Secondly, let it be known the "difference of opinion" was with the junior priest with the pastor as a witness where Mr. Gallagher provoked the priest with insults at a meeting.
It is quite doubtful when Mr. Gallagher states that the encounter with the priest was an "incredibly rewarding experience that inspired his current efforts at Church reform". Please know that Mr. Gallagher has been after Church reform long before that incident and is divisive at all levels of the church's business and undoubtedly is anti-clerical most likely with an unconscious desire to be a priest himself and eventually become the Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport.
Lastly, the former Pastor of St. Mary, Msgr. Stubbs, did not resign from St. Mary Parish for health reasons. He retired because he violated a canonical policy by having a woman Episcopal Priest vested and concelebrate at a funeral mass for a high profile person. Many high profile people at that funeral complained to the Arch Bishop of Boston, Cardinal of New York as well as the Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport. All other comments concerning Msgr. Stubbs are irrelevant as to why his resignation was requested.
I have met two Popes as well, that certainly does not make me infallible.

But wait, the plot thickens...Our not so Heroic character turns out to be a member of the progressive group Voice of the Faithful which this very type of church governance is the model they are pushing. Devout Catholic my eye:

Upon further investigation, Tom Gallagher seems to be more than just a Greenwich businessman, and to have more than just a passive role in lobbying legislators for the change. In a Voice of the Faithful article titled, “The Money Trail: Financial Management and Mismanagement in the Diocese of Bridgeport,” Joseph O’Callaghan quotes ‘Attorney’ Tom Gallagher multiple times. The article spells out the following principles for reform:

“[...] The same principles should be applied to diocesan property. The diocesan corporation should include elected representatives from each of the eighty-seven parishes, who in turn would elect two directors from each of the five vicariates.

And his side-kick: Dr. Paul Lakeland, former Jesuit Priest and Dr. Paul Lakeland, Fairfield University Chair of Catholic Studies, Voice of the Faithful member, former Jesuit Priest, (if the Jesuits didn't keep him he really must of have been a heretic, oh but they did keep him on staff to teach Catholic Studies, so forget that)

and author of several books including “The Liberation of the Laity: In Search of an Accountable Church,” recently discussed his support for Connecticut’s controversial Bill No. 1098 with CNA. Dr. Lakeland is also scheduled to testify before the Connecticut General Assembly on behalf of the bill.

The premise of the bill is remarkably similar to the 2009-2010 Voice of the Faithful Strategic Plan. “The VOTF,” as Dr. Lakeland explains, “grew up in response to the sex abuse scandals here. One of the things that became rapidly apparent, among both liberals and conservatives, was the sense that the bishops hadn’t done a very good job of handling this.”

Explaining his connection to the bill Dr. Lakeland said, “I’m connected to [the bill] to this degree: I’ve been working pretty closely with Tom Gallagher, who’s a Greenwich businessman, who has been behind the push to get the state government to do something about this. Even though, I don’t think, even he was involved in putting the legislation together.”

With friends like this who needs enemies?