Separation Of Church & State
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has become a Republican PAC, and they are ignoring the law when they do it.
A sample from McClatchy:
Joining the chorus of Roman Catholic clergy in Illinois criticizing President Barack Obama before next week’s election, Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky ordered priests to read a letter to parishioners on Sunday before the presidential election, explaining that politicians who support abortion rights also reject Jesus.
And from the CBC you have: Ottawa school trip cancelled over anti-abortion article. That’s right, because these students were going to observe the US political system by participating in a GOTV drive that was sponsored by the Obama campaign, they were promoting abortion.
Of course I’m prejudiced because I refuse to accept moral judgments or guidance from a group of people who shielded child molesters for decades to “protect the image of the Church”, as if image was more important than the life of a child.
5 comments
Catholics separate church and state the same way they separate the men from the boys… with a crowbar.
I do not know if the Catholic Church was ever a worthy organization, but if so, it was a very long time ago. I truly feel sorry for my Catholic friends.
Under Pope John XXIII they were a solid partner in promoting social causes, and a lot of Catholics were murdered around the world trying to make things better. but John Paul II brought all of that to a screeching halt and moved the Church back to the Middle Ages. They have returned to the organization that caused my Dutch ancestors to leave Europe and plant roots in North America.
I don’t mind if the Catholic Church gets involved in politics, but if they do, they should pay taxes like the rest of us. They benefit from streets and police protection and so forth too, why should my tax money be subsidizing them if they’re going to get involved in politics? What next, the Republican National Convention applies for tax-exempt status as a religion? (Well, I guess it is, since its ideology certainly is based on faith rather facts and numbers, but sheesh!).
BTW, most of the soup kitchens and homeless shelters here are run by the Catholic Church so, as with the Salvation Army, I guess I’ll put up with letting them have a tax exemption despite them being goofy religious nutcases — *if* they stowe the politics cr*p and get back to doing what Jesus told them to do. ‘Nuff said on that.
The strange bit is that Catholic charities is very careful not to be political, as people saw in the fake photo-op that Ryan pulled. They don’t want to alienate anybody who might donate to their work.
I’m not challenging their tax-exempt status as non-profits, just the use of donations to the Church as a tax deduction. If they want to be a PAC, they can still be a non-profit, but political donations aren’t tax exempt. They won’t like what happens to their income if big donors can’t write it off.
That is what is so annoying about the attack on the Nuns. The Nuns are being apolitical and doing useful social welfare work, but the Church wants them to be political.