From a New York Times article about differing political positions among Catholics, which I found really interesting, comes a problematic little piece of information:
In Scranton, Pa., every Catholic attending Mass this weekend will hear a special homily about the election next month: Bishop Joseph Martino has ordered every priest in the diocese to read a letter warning that voting for a supporter of abortion rights amounts to endorsing “homicide.”
Someone please explain to me how this isn't a violation of their 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status. I respect the opinions of those who have personal, faith-based reasons for voting one way or another, but this to me seems like a clear breach of the tax law.
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"...absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office."
I heard a few interviews about this last weekend that were really interesting (and maddening). The guy who was supporting the church said that it was their 1st ammendment right to free speech to talk about social and political issues from the pulpit. He claimed that Sunday sermons were essential to their freedom of religion, and are thus protected from any type of censorship. He said the law that prohibits the church from endorsing a candidate is therefore unconstitutional, and should be challenged and overturned.
They interviewed another minister who opposed this idea, saying that there should be a clear distinction between church and state. The tax law says that they can't support a *particular candidate*; this guy agreed with that, saying that as long as they don't mention the candidate by name (or clearly imply one candidate over the other) they are within their rights. Sounds pretty fuzzy to me...
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