On Friday morning, Timothy Kane, a sixth grade math teacher at Pulaski Middle School in New Britain will be arraigned in Hartford Superior Court for second-degree harassment after he allegedly sent “an email containing an alarming statement” to State Senator Andrew McDonald and State Representative Michael Lawlor.

It appears that all of this comes from a long battle over what role lay people should have in the financial affairs of their churches. As best as I can tell, a year or two ago, Catholic Activist Tom Gallagher asked State Rep. Claudia “Dolly” Powers, a Republican from Greenwich to submit legislation to make it easier for lay people to hold Priests and other church officials accountable. Rep. Powers submitted the legislation on behalf of her constituent. The bill did not go very far and he Catholic Church did not go after Rep. Powers.

Rep. Powers has retired. This year, when Mr. Gallagher managed to get it resubmitted by State Sen. Andrew McDonald, it became a whole different matter. Sen. McDonald is co-chair of the Judiciary committee and bills submitted by a committee co-chair tend to get a lot more attention. In addition “pro-family” Catholic Activists appear to dislike Sen. McDonald and Rep. Lawlor for their support of same-sex marriage.

The Family Institute of Connecticut, which has fought long and hard against same-sex marriage is using the introduction of what they call “the bishop removal bill” to call for the removal of Sen. McDonald and Rep. Lawlor from their roles as co-chairs of the judiciary committee.

While I believe this is about as warranted as their call for a Connecticut Constitutional Convention, and I hope they have as much luck calling for Sen. McDonald and Rep Lawlor’s removal as they did calling for a Constitutional Convention, I do commend them for attempting to approach their grievances through legal channels. We need to voice our grievances through legal channels, and we need to voice them with civility.

Calling SB 1098 “the bishop removal bill” misrepresents what the bill is about. It is needlessly inflammatory and the Family Institute should be ashamed of themselves.

All of this comes back to some important underlying questions. What type of country do we want to live in? I value basic civility, willingness to help one another, and accountability. These are things that have helped make our country strong. I believe that separation of Church and State should not be used to protect Priests or others engaged in criminal activity, such as embezzling church funds, and that we need to find ways to make it easier for members of a Parish find out the true status of their churches finances.

How do we do that? We need to have honest discussions about the issues that SB 1098 raises and not try to deflect the discussion by conflating it with culture war issues like same-sex marriage. We don’t do it by inflaming the discussion or sending threatening emails.

For those seeking to observe a Holy Lent, take a few moments to think about your beliefs. If you have acted in ways that don’t glorify God as part of your political activism, ask God’s forgiveness. Then, pray for those who are persecuted for doing their job, for doing their best effort to bring civility and accountability to our state, including Sen. McDonald and Rep. Lawlor. You might even want to offer thanksgiving for people like Sen. McDonald and Rep. Lawlor and others who fight for civility and accountability in our state.