True religious persecution

Oh the right-wing fundamentalists love to carry on about how persecuted they are. But their churches are not threatened by the IRS. In spite of the fact that many of them engage in blatant political activity. But an Episcopal Church where an anti-war sermon was preached is threatened. What? Christians are no longer allowed to preach against war? What part of "Prince of Peace" don't they understand?

The articles are all over the internet but I'm giving you a link to the one published by CNN. It's entitled, "Church: Anti-war sermon imperils tax status". Here's part of what it says:

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The Internal Revenue Service has warned a prominent liberal church it could lose its tax-exempt status because of an anti-war sermon a guest preacher gave on the eve of the 2004 presidential election, church officials say.

The Rev. George F. Regas did not urge parishioners at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena to support either President Bush or John Kerry, but he was critical of the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts.

The IRS warned the church in June that its tax-exempt status was in jeopardy because such organizations are prohibited from intervening in political campaigns and elections.

The church's rector, J. Edwin Bacon, told his congregation about the problem Sunday.

"It's important for everyone to understand that the IRS concerns are not supported by the facts," Bacon said.

Bacon later said he chose Sunday to inform the congregation because Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu was in attendance and because he believes a decision from the IRS is imminent.

He called the IRS threat "a direct assault on freedom of speech and freedom of religion."

An IRS spokesman in Washington declined to comment Monday, saying he could not discuss particular cases.

What about the Mennonite Churches and the Quakers who are historic peace churches? Preaching against war is part of their identity. Are they going to lose their tax exempt status because of anti-war messages? Time to turn those tables and go after the fundamentalists and reactionary Catholics who try to influence elections over abortion. I don't think liberals are going to go down without a fight on THIS one.