All the news I wish to print

There are all kinds of stories out there. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry. Some will make you shrug, some will make you scream. Read any daily paper or listen to any newscast and your emotions can go from happy to sad to disbelief to fear to incredulity to horror to anger in very short order.
As we go along, there will be stories, as Paul Harvey used to say, to "wash your ears out with." There will be others that will make you feel like you need to be deloused simply by virtue of having heard or read them. Some posts will be religious, some secular and for some I expect will defy easy classification in either category. I hope you will join me in this journey and please feel free to comment along the way.
For my part I pledge not to remove any posts unless they are vulgar, libelous, threatening or otherwise in violation of the standards of civil discussion. I will not remove any post simply because I disagree with it but I will reserve the right to respond to any challenges that come my way.
God bless you and welcome to my blog.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

How free are clergy to discuss politics from pulpit?

How free are clergy to discuss politics from pulpit?
Suit challenges IRS restrictions on pastors and nonprofit organizations when it comes to political issues

By Jim Graves - OSV Newsweekly, 12/18/2011
Clergy preaching politics


The San Diego apologetics organization Catholic Answers recently made the news when it asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it to sue the Internal Revenue Service for violation of its First Amendment rights.

At issue were two e-letters sent by founder Karl Keating questioning if Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democrat presidential candidate, should present himself for holy Communion because he is a Catholic who supports legalized abortion. The IRS had ordered Catholic Answers to pay excise taxes for 2004 and 2005, but later dropped the case. Catholic Answers wants to sue the IRS because it believes the threat of tax penalties will prevent such groups from speaking out on issues in the public arena.

With the 2012 presidential election less than a year away, the dispute raises the broader question: What can clergy in the pulpit and Catholic nonprofits say about politics without fear of IRS retribution?

Read more here.
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