Churches Sue Phoenix for the Right to Ring Bells

[Beau_Ouiville]

"PHOENIX (CN) - Three churches say Phoenix is unconstitutionally prohibiting them from ringing their bells. A Catholic bishop was convicted and sentenced to 3 years probation and 10 days in jail - suspended - for violating a noise ordinance by ringing the carillon, according to the federal complaint. Christ the King Church says it has stopped ringing its bells “for fear of future prosecution.”

 St. Mark's Catholic Church, Christ the King Church and the First Christian Church want to ring "carillon bells from their locations ... as part of their religious exercise, but fear that they will be prohibited from doing so," the complaint states.

 Bishop Rick Painter of Christ the King was sentenced on June 3 to a suspended jail sentence and probation after he rang the church's bells.

On Aug. 24, two city prosecutors and two police officers warned St. Mark’s that it could be prosecuted, “if St. Mark did not reduce the amount of times that it rings its carillon to the satisfaction of certain neighbors,” according to the complaint."

courthousenews.com/2009/09/05/Churches_Sue_Phoenix_for_Right_to_Ring_Bells.htm

 

[ljubim]

It’s called religious freedom
Some people are really sick.

 

[Mel_Stones]

That’s ridiculous !
Repair work at night is allowed but we can’t ring our bells to call the faithful to prayer?
I love church bells. I wish I lived in a town with a Catholic Church so the bells could remind me to pray.
This will sound harsh - if the ‘neighbors’ don’t like it, they can move. Or better yet they can go to the Church and investigate why the bells are ringing. Perhaps the bells will lead them to Christ.

 

[ljubim]

Actually my priest doesn’t like bells for some reason and so no steeple, no bells when they’re consecrating the eucharist. I’m very jealous of them for even having bells.

The courts will take anybody, however delusional, seriously.

 

[Tsuwano]

It seems to me there may be room for compromise in this area. If the churches are ringing their bells to mark the passage of time, then I think the neighbors may have a point and the churches should be sensitive to the complaints. If the churches are calling the faithful to mass or are celebrating a special feast day, such as Christmas or Easter, then I think the neighbors should be sensitive to the needs of the churches. I love bells, too, and enjoy hearing the chimes, but in a multi cultural society where numerous religions exist in proximity to one another, I think it is best to express one’s faith with sensitivity to neighbors. I wouldn’t be surprised if some kind of compromise is reached in this present situation.

 

[puzzleannie]

it only remains to compare similar disputes in towns with a large Muslim population, with their 5 times daily call to prayer.somebody from Detroit or Dearborn can probably supply a link

 

[Beau_Ouiville]

The problem here is that the churches had been ringing the bells for 20 years. So folks who moved there should have had notice that they would hear this type of sound. Its like moving near the train tracks or near Chicago’s Midway Airport. You didn’t notice the planes taking off and landing before you bought the house?

For the life of me, I don’t know how the priest was convicted of a criminal charge for making noise. This is one that the Thomas More Center should have been on the defense instead of worrying about Notre Dame protesters. I bet the ACLU would have taken the case. It seems to me that the priest’s conviction really violates his religious liberty.

But, as someone said, this area is ripe for compromise.

 

[GratefulDad]

The problem here is that the churches had been ringing the bells for 20 years. So folks who moved there should have had notice that they would hear this type of sound. Its like moving near the train tracks or near Chicago’s Midway Airport. You didn’t notice the planes taking off and landing before you bought the house?

For the life of me, I don’t know how the priest was convicted of a criminal charge for making noise. It seems to me that the priest’s conviction really violates his religious liberty.

This we can agree on.