Craig Fishbein, a Republican councilman from Wallingford, took a brave step politically this week.

He went public with a criticism of the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Wallingford, claiming leaders of the parish went too far when they began distributing fliers urging that resident not sign a petition that's being circulated. The petition is part of an effort to overturn a decision by the Town Council to apply for a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Small Cities Community Development Program that would be used to make improvements to private parking areas that are adjacent to the parish's Holy Trinity School.

Fisbein doesn't think that the church should be stifling the public's right to initiative and referendum.

On the hand, the church and the school have more than a passing interest in the outcome of this issue. Fixing the wall on its own could cost the Holy Trinity community a significant amount of money if the church was forced to pay for the repair or go to court to force someone else to do it

. A large portion of the money being sought in the grant - $100,000 according to Fishbein - would be used to repair a deteriorating retaining wall that separates the parking area from the school and fix drainage problems that caused the deterioration in the first place.

All of this begs the question: What should the role of churches be in the political process?  Consider this issue further as you look through the links I've included in this post.