Missouri Catholic direct sermons to fight research...tax exempt status?

[politicaholic]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/27/stemcell.sermons.ap/index.html

Priests urge stem cell opposition
Missouri Catholic dioceses direct sermons to fight research

Monday, November 28, 2005; Posted: 12:28 a.m. EST (05:28 GMT)


JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (AP) -- The battle over embryonic stem cell research moved into the pews Sunday, as Roman Catholic priests across Missouri urged churchgoers to oppose a petition seeking a constitutional amendment that would protect the controversial work.

The petition drive was announced last month by a group of business leaders, patient advocates and researchers as a response to legislative efforts to ban a type of stem cell research known as therapeutic cloning.

Missouri's Catholic dioceses oppose it, and urged their priests statewide to begin a campaign Sunday aimed at keeping Catholics from signing the petition.

-snip-

Hmmmmm...I thought directing the actions of the congregation for or against specific political action on church grounds a violation of their tax exempt status.

[Hobarticus]

1. Yank their tax-emept status so fast their heads spin...

This kind of thing just really chaps my hide. How 'bout feeding the poor, clothing the naked, comforting the sick? Naw, we're going to line the pockets of a few lobbyists in Jeebus' name. Barf.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. they talked about it on the radio this morning

on Springfield MO NPR station. Almost sounded like an ad for doing it rather than a report.

I agree that their tax exempt status should be gone.

[FreedomAngel82]

7. Yes

When I go to church I go for spiritual reason's and not politics.

[kweerwolf]

3. It's not quite so easy to yank tax exempt status

A group called the Mainstream Coalition in Kansas trained and sent volunteers out to monitor sermons in some of the right-wing churches during the 2004 election.

As it turns out, the churches cannot endorse a political candidate or party, but they are allowed to take stands on issues ... and the whole stem cell debate falls into that category. That's why their "voters guides" will show a checklist on where candidates stand on their pet issues (abortion, gay rights, guns, stem cell, etc., etc.) but stop short of saying "vote for the candidates who agree with our issues." They dance around the tax laws by claiming the voter guides are only for "informational purposes."

[politicaholic]

4. That's a loop hole you could drive the Popemobile through...

thanks for the info.

[kweerwolf]

5. Ironically I just found an article about IRS complaints

This one is against Dobson's Focus on the Family and it's posted on DU here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2279142&mesg_id=2279142

[kweerwolf]

6. Oops! ... Must have hit the button twice. Dupe

Dupe

[Ian David]

8. My church is against Evil. The following candidates are Evil. That's easy!