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A liberal church in Pasadena is going to be losing its tax exempt status because of an anti-war sermon given a few days before the Nov 2004 election. I'm all for keeping religion out of politics but it is bull**** that Southern Baptists can openly endorse Bush without anything happening and the Catholic Church can tell people they must repent for voting for Kerry yet nothing ever happens to them. Why is it only churches which don't endorse Bush get the axe? Clearly, we have a double standard and the administration is abusing its authority.
Pasadena church could lose tax-exempt status for anti-war sermon
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Worshippers at a prominent liberal church were told that the Internal Revenue Service has warned that the church could lose its tax-exempt status because of an anti-war sermon that a former rector delivered two days before the 2004 presidential election.
In his sermon, the Rev. George F. Regas did not urge parishioners at All Saints Episcopal Church to support either George Bush or his opponent, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. But he was sharply critical of the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts.
The IRS in a June 9 letter warned the church that its tax-exempt status was in jeopardy because the federal tax code prohibits such organizations from intervening in political campaigns and elections. The church's current rector, J. Edwin Bacon, told his congregation about the problem on Sunday.
"It's important for everyone to understand that the IRS concerns are not supported by the facts," he told the congregation.
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An IRS spokesman in Washington, D.C., declined comment Monday, saying the law prohibits him from discussing particular cases.
The IRS has revoked a church's charitable designation at least once. A church in Binghamton, N.Y., lost its status after running advertisements against Bill Clinton's candidacy shortly before the 1992 presidential election.
Some All Saints members and officials said they feared the politically active, 3,500-member church was being singled out. Churches across California on Sunday took stands on both sides of Proposition 73, which would bar abortions for minors unless parents are notified.
"The question is, is it politically motivated?" said Joe Mirando, an engineer from Burbank. "That's the underlying feeling of everyone here."
Marcus Owens, the church's tax attorney and a former head of the IRS tax-exempt section, said he doubts that's the case.
"I think it is more a case of senior management at IRS not paying attention to what the rules are," he said.
Owens wrote in an October letter to the IRS that "it seems ludicrous to suggest that a pastor cannot preach about the value of promoting peace simply because the nation happens to be at war during an election season."
He said the IRS recently offered to drop the proceedings if the church admitted wrongdoing. The church declined the offer, he said.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) -- Worshippers at a prominent liberal church were told that the Internal Revenue Service has warned that the church could lose its tax-exempt status because of an anti-war sermon that a former rector delivered two days before the 2004 presidential election.
In his sermon, the Rev. George F. Regas did not urge parishioners at All Saints Episcopal Church to support either George Bush or his opponent, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. But he was sharply critical of the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts.
The IRS in a June 9 letter warned the church that its tax-exempt status was in jeopardy because the federal tax code prohibits such organizations from intervening in political campaigns and elections. The church's current rector, J. Edwin Bacon, told his congregation about the problem on Sunday.
"It's important for everyone to understand that the IRS concerns are not supported by the facts," he told the congregation.
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An IRS spokesman in Washington, D.C., declined comment Monday, saying the law prohibits him from discussing particular cases.
The IRS has revoked a church's charitable designation at least once. A church in Binghamton, N.Y., lost its status after running advertisements against Bill Clinton's candidacy shortly before the 1992 presidential election.
Some All Saints members and officials said they feared the politically active, 3,500-member church was being singled out. Churches across California on Sunday took stands on both sides of Proposition 73, which would bar abortions for minors unless parents are notified.
"The question is, is it politically motivated?" said Joe Mirando, an engineer from Burbank. "That's the underlying feeling of everyone here."
Marcus Owens, the church's tax attorney and a former head of the IRS tax-exempt section, said he doubts that's the case.
"I think it is more a case of senior management at IRS not paying attention to what the rules are," he said.
Owens wrote in an October letter to the IRS that "it seems ludicrous to suggest that a pastor cannot preach about the value of promoting peace simply because the nation happens to be at war during an election season."
He said the IRS recently offered to drop the proceedings if the church admitted wrongdoing. The church declined the offer, he said.
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