PASADENA, Calif. (ABP) — The Internal Revenue Service has informed a progressive California church that it will not be sanctioned for an anti-war sermon preached there in 2004 — but church leaders are asking for an apology for an investigation they believe may have been politically motivated.
Edwin Bacon, the rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Calif., informed parishioners of the IRS decision during worship services Sept. 23. The church had been under investigation for potential fines or revocation of its tax-exempt status since 2005.
The investigation stemmed from a guest sermon that George Regas, the church's rector emeritus, delivered just before the 2004 presidential election. In it, he strongly criticized the war in Iraq but also said he believed that both President Bush and his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, were good Christians.
Churches and other organizations organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code are not allowed to offer official endorsements of, or opposition to, candidates or political parties. However, the law allows houses of worship to speak out about issues of public policy as long as they don't include clear partisan messages.
In a Sept. 10 letter, IRS officials informed Bacon and All Saints of their decision to drop the investigation without any sanction. However, the letter also noted the agency's determination that the church “intervened in the 2004 presidential election campaign.”
It continued, “We note that this appears to be a one-time occurrence and that you have policies in place to ensure that the church complies with the prohibition against intervention in campaigns for public office.”
But Bacon, in a statement released by the church, said that was not a satisfactory conclusion to the investigation, which has cost the church hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
“While we are pleased that the IRS examination is finally over, the IRS has failed to explain its conclusion regarding the single sermon at issue,” he said. “Synagogues, mosques, and churches across America have no more guidance about the IRS rules now than when we started this process over two long years ago. The impact of this letter leaves a chilling effect cast over the freedom of America's pulpits to preach core moral values. We have no choice but to demand clarification on this matter with the IRS.”
The church is asking the office of the IRS commissioner to examine what it called “numerous procedural and legal errors” committed by the investigators in the course of the inquiry.
Church officials also say they have heard that “certain IRS officials may have breached the church's confidentiality rights in inappropriate conversations with high-level Department of Justice personnel, which heightens the church's concern that the exam may have been influenced by partisan political considerations.”
As a result, All Saints also has referred the case to the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration.
Several churches have been investigated in recent years by the IRS for engaging in partisan political endorsements. The majority have been conservative churches endorsing Republican candidates. However, only one church — a small congregation in New York — has had its tax-exempt status revoked for violations of the law.
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