Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/299

 CONNECTICUT

255

CONNECTICUT

cl lurch or religious association. It was further de- I lued that every society or denomination of Chris- t iiiis should have and enjoy the same and equal pow- I 1-, rights, and privileges. Among such powers was -^••citied authority in such denominations to support
 * ind maintain ministers or teachers, and to build and

ri pair houses for public worship by a tax on the mem- 1 iii>i of s\ich society only, to be laid by a majority vote (if tlie legal voters assembled at any society meeting warned and held according to law or in any manner. It was further provided that any person might sepa- rate himself from thesociety or denomination of Chris- ti:ais to which he belonged by leaving a written notice • that effect with the clerk of the society, and should r.'upon cease to be liable for any future expenses .! red by such society. This power of taxation has
 * iiany years ceased to be exercised by the constit-

1 societies of any of the denominations, which are ^ usually maintained by pew rents, voluntary offer- I _-, and the income of specific charitable trusts \\ luTe such exist.

I'he observance of Sunday has always been strictly I invided for by law. The statutes now in force had ili'ir origin about the beginning of the eighteenth n iitury. They forbid any secular business or labour, I \rt-pt works of necessity or mercy, the keeping open I pi' any shop, warehouse, or manufacturing establish- ni-nt, the exposing of any property for sale, or the (!it;aging in any sport on Sunday, and the person cttrnding may be fined not to exceed fifty dollars. Ihise statutes also provide that any person who is imsent at any concert of music, dancing, or other jiiiljlic diversion on Sundaj', or the evening thereof, may be fined not more than four dollars. The keep- in,; open of s.aloons and sale of liquor on Sunday is li-ii prohibited under severe penalties. These laws -ill have public opinion strongly in their favour, and ill'' in consequence pretty generally respected and iiifnrced. Special laws allow the nmning of railway triiiis and trolley cars on Sundays during such hours and with such frequency as the State railroad com- missioners may, from time to time, prescribe.

All judges and magistrates, clerks of courts, and

rt lin other officials in special cases are empowered

1 y statute to administer oaths. An oath of faithful ]" formance is usually required from the incumbent I" lure entering upon the duties of any public office. A iininistrators and others when making return of the 1 1 ; I ifs they have performed are required to make oath til it the duties have been faithfully perfonned or that thr return they make thereof is" true and correct. rill' ceremonial of the oath universally employed is 1 y raising the right hand in the presence of the ni ti^'istrate administering it, who recites the statutory 1 ! ni, always beginning with the words " You solemnly s A. ar", and ending with the invocation "So help you I i mI'. For many years the statutes have permitted an\- person having conscientious scruples to affirm in

I of being sworn. Such persons "solemnly and rely affirm and declare", "upon the pains and ilties of perjurj'". If the authority administer- ihe oath shall have reason to believe that any r ceremony will be more binding upon the con- ice of a witness, he may permit or require any I. r ceremony to be used.

Statutes against blasphemy and profanity have

1 ' '11 in existence since the settlement of the colony,

■ ! in the seventeenth century these crimes were

rely punished. The statutes now in force are

•d to legislation of 1642 and 1650, and provide

' one who shall blaspheme again.st God, either

■ n of the Holy Trinity, the Christian religion,

ne Holy Scriptures, shall be fined not more than

111 hundred dollars and imprisoned not more than

oni' year, and bound to his good behaviour. One who

shall use any profane oath or wickedly curse another

shall be fined one dollar.

It has always been the custom to open each daily session of both houses of the General Assembly with prayer, and chaplains are appointed by each body whose salaries are fixed by law. It is still the cu.stom to open each term of the Supreme and Superior courts with prayer. The clerk invites some clergj'man to perform that office, and pays him an honorarium which is taxed in the regular expenses of the court. The great festival of Christmas received little recog- nition among the Congregationalists of Connecticut and the other New England States until the latter half of the nineteenth centurj'. Almost from the settlement of the colony it was the custom for the governor to proclaim a day of thanksgiving in the late autumn to be obser\-ed as a religious holiday. It was originally intended to be and is still considered as a sort of hari-est festival, and has long been es- teemed in Connecticut as a day for family reunions and feasting. It was not until Episcopalians or, still later. Catholics became such prominent factors in the population that the 2.5th of December was declared by statute to be a legal holiday. Good Friday, as such, has never been made a legal holiday. The earlier settlers and their descendants were accustomed to observe a day in the early spring, proclaimed by legal authority as a daj- of fasting and prayer. For many years now it has been the custom for the gov- ernor to select Good Friday for the annual spring fast. Thus Christmas and Good Friday have in recent years received somewhat indirectly the recog- nition of ci\Tl authority. No statutes have been enacted, however, to compel their observance, and the statutes relating to Sundaj' observance are in no way applicable to these days. Xo other holy days of the Church are recognized in any manner by the law.

\o pri\'ilege under the law attaches in any way to communications made to a priest under the seal of confession. As yet such privilege extends only to communications between a lawyer and his client, which the common law of England has always pro- tected. It may be doubted if a law extending such privilege to priests or indeed to clergj'men of any denomination could be passed through the legislature as at present constituted. Xo instance, however, exists, certainly in recent years, where an attempt has been made in any court of justice to compel a priest to disclose any knowledge which came to him through the confessional, and it is quite certain that public opinion w-ould strongly disapprove any 6uch attempt.

EccLESi.\STiCAL CORPORATIONS. — The statutes of Connecticut contain quite elaborate provisions regu- lating ecclesiastical societies and the incorporation of churches. Many of those still in force were originally passed when the Congregational denomination was practically the State religion, and its various eccle- siastical societies had power to lay taxes for their support. Originally such a society was distinct from the church, constituting a separate organization. Individuals might be legal members of the society and not members of the church. This condition still remains in many communities, although, as before stated, one may escape liability of taxation by with- drawing from the society. It would be legally possi- ble for an ecclesiastical society to be incorporated under these laws for the purpose of maintaining a church in communion with the Catholic Church. In early times before statutes were enacted for the organization and government of these societies, the several towns had the functions of ecclesiastical societies.

In recent years special statutory provisions have been made for the government of other denomina- tions. Prior to 186C, when a law was passed having special reference to the Catholic Church, the title to most of its property was vested in the bishop and hia