27 March 2023
Yesterday, one of the shortest National Assembly sessions in Phillip legislative history concluded with the approval of two new bills. The most important bill - the "Crimes Against the Church of Phillip Bill" - was presented by Rep. Cooper Norfolk (I). The bill would expand the role of the Pope of the Church of Phillip significantly, allowing the Pope to arrest and punish citizens suspected of committing so-called crimes against the Church. The bill outlined three specific crimes against the Church, listed below:
Talking dirty about the Church of Phillip or its Pope;
Saying anything negative about the Church of Phillip; and
Not being in the Church of Phillip.
According to Rep. Norfolk, the bill was submitted to the Assembly "as a joke" with no real intention of it passing. To the surprise of Rep. Norfolk and several of his fellow representatives, the bill just barely gained enough support to pass through the Assembly. Swiftly after the conclusion of the Assembly session, the bill was passed into law by President Renny. He was reportedly very excited to pass the law, as along with being the President of Phillip, he also serves as the Pope of the Church of Phillip. This bill could allow him to grow the size and influence of his Church within the nation.
Although the Church of Phillip is the official religion of Phillip, only about 26% of the citizens follow it. The two other largest religions in Phillip are Catholicism and Christianity, which together account for around 37% of all religious affiliations within Phillip. With the passage of the new law, it is implied that more than 74% of the country is technically committing a crime against the Church of Phillip. It is yet to be seen if President Renny will allow the other religions to continue their practices. According to Rep. Norfolk, Minister of Corporations Owen Itzen was previously able to convince President Renny to allow Catholics to practice in private, thereby essentially "turning a blind eye" to them. As a Catholic himself, Minister Itzen told President Renny that if he was unable to practice his faith, he would renounce his Phillip citizenship. Another factor that pushed President Renny to come to this decision was that the majority of his family practices Catholicism and he wants to protect them and their ability to worship.
As of right now, President Renny has yet to release any plans to convert the non-members of the Church of Phillip. It is completely possible that he will use his new abilities sparingly and only arrest and punish non Church members for external reasons. Citizens of Phillip have had mixed reactions to the new law. The general consensus amongst those who oppose the law is that President Renny is trying to turn Phillip into a sort of Theocratic state. Popular Presidential candidate and Assembly Rep. Reed Von condemned the law in a statement released to this press this evening. Below are some excerpts from his statement:
"While the church is supreme and all powerful there is supposed to be a separation of church and state, as to not abuse to power of god, and to allow the state to be free, all while they cannot abuse to power of the church to usurp power, and consolidate power under the means of the church. The bill is utterly terrible, and goes against the church, and is a petty attempt at changing Phillip into a theocratic state ruled by a dictator... While our constitution does not outline freedom of religion it is represented in Phillip... The bill should be nullified and we need to amend the constitution to allow for the freedoms of our citizens to be preserved, and allow our government not to consolidate power by abusing the church." - Minister Reed Von
Vice President Luke Fitzgibbins also condemned the law in a recent interview with the Phillip Daily, but claimed it could actually be healthy for the country. Below is his full statement on the matter:
“I believe the ‘Church Bill’ to be extremely controversial, undemocratic, unfaithful to Phillip and the Butter Butta Bentley’s true values, but exactly what this nation needs. We need some mishappenings, we need some shenanigans, and I think this bill delivers.” - VP Luke Fitzgibbins
Bill author Rep. Norfolk has apologized to those affected by the law and has stated his intention to present a bill to this Friday's Assembly session guaranteeing citizens of Phillip the freedom of religion. It is unknown if President Renny will pass that bill, but he has claimed that he's open to the idea.
The only politician to openly endorse the law is Richardson Party Chairwoman Madison Marcos. On behalf of her party, she stated, perhaps satirically, that she "full heartedly supports the decisions made in the Church of Phillip Bill" and that she "hope[s] it becomes a cult". Her decision marks the first time that the Richardson Party has ever aligned with another party on a public policy issue. It could also potentially create a very unlikely alliance, as her party and the Butter Butta Bentley Party have completely different platforms.
So far, the effects of this new law have been extremely minimal. The future of this new legislation is uncertain, causing many to believe that only bad things can come from it.