An Indecent Proposition

Yesterday, we noted that the All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif., has been informed by the IRS that it might lose its tax-exempt status for mixing politics and religion. Its alleged violation? A 2004 sermon at the height of the presidential campaign in which it was suggested that Jesus Christ would not be a big supporter of the Iraq war.

It was also noted that All Saints is one of the most liberal churches in the nation.

All the while, California was gearing up for yesterday’s elections, on which Proposition 73, which would require teens to notify their parents before getting an abortion, was on the ballot. So, just for the record, which of the following is NOT a political practice conducted by conservative churches in California in support of Prop. 73?

A) “Yes on 73” fliers slipped into church bulletins
B) Showing the two-minute anti-abortion DVD “Protect Me” to the congregation during Sunday services
C) Distributing anti-abortion homilies to the state’s 1,100 Catholic parishes
D) Distributing more than 50,000 “Yes on 73” communion wafers to more than 200 Central California Episcopal churches


ANSWER
D) No one distributed “Yes on 73” communion wafers — probably because they didn’t think of it in time.

Apparently, federal tax laws allow churches to discuss political ISSUES, just not individual candidates.

And, for the record, California’s Prop. 73 failed yesterday with some 52 percent of voters opposing it.