Church faces IRS probe after anti-war sermon in 2004

The Internal Revenue Service has warned a prominent liberal church that it could lose its tax-exempt status because of an anti-war sermon given on the eve of the 2004 presidential election, according to church officials.

Rector Ed Bacon of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena told Sunday worshippers the IRS claims the church violated federal tax code barring tax-exempt organizations from intervening in political campaigns and elections.



In a sermon two days before the 2004 election, the Rev. George F. Regas did not urge parishioners to support President Bush or Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., but was critical of the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts.

"He explicitly said, 'I am not telling you how to vote.' That is the golden boundary we did not cross," Bacon said in a telephone interview Monday.

An IRS spokesman declined to comment on the All Saints investigation, saying the law prohibits discussion of specific cases. But the IRS did release a fact sheet detailing its policies regarding political activities by tax-exempt organizations.

At issue is whether there was an explicit or implicit endorsement contained within Regas' sermon. Regas, a longtime rector at All Saints who retired in 1995, was invited by Bacon to give the sermon that day.

Bacon said Regas was well aware of what he could and could not say.

"We are so clear and consistent about respecting the IRS guidelines," Bacon said.

The church first received word from the IRS in June, and was told by the agency the case would be dropped if the church admitted crossing the line and vowed never to do so again, Bacon said.

"That was repulsive on two levels," Bacon said. "We had not crossed the line in the first place and to strike some sort of deal was abhorrent. Our position is that for decades this church has been boldly expressing its core values and audaciously using them to critique whomever was in power."

Posted Wednesday, November 09, 2005
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/regstate/articles/1839361.html

No tax exemption for any religion, only for charitiable donations.
I think that worldly possessions are anathema to any faith.

I am so ready for this bullshit to end! Let's take these BushCo bastards (can I still say that here?) at their word and fight this pulpit fight. An anti-war (and biblical stance) is cause for IRS alarm?

Puh-leeze.

I'm ready to take no prisoners and eat the wounded.

I should get a reduction on my taxes because I can never benefit from their faith based payoffs.

is NOT telling anyone who to vote for or not. From what I've read this preacher did not advocate one politician or political party over any other and IMO preaching tolerance, love, peace, etc and against war is a basic tenent of the REAL teachings of Jesus.

If the IRS went after BushCo's fundie base every time they took a political stance most of Buch's fundie church backers would be paying taxes.

Someday churches need to decide how much their freedom of speech in teaching their spiritual path is worth compared to their "tax excempt status".

Bush likes the new one, though.