What do think about this?
Here's a story from our AP wire today. What do you all think about this? My initial reaction was that a pastor should be able to speak out against war, but then when i read the details I wasn't so sure whether his sermon was more in the way of political activity. I'm not sure what documents the IRS could possibly want from the chruch and the story doesn't say.
Church fighting IRS over anti-war sermon won’t give up documents
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The leaders of a Pasadena church battling the IRS over an anti-war sermon delivered before the 2004 presidential election voted unanimously Thursday to resist an order to turn over documents related to the case, the congregation’s senior warden told The Associated Press.
“We’re going to put it in their court and in a court of law so that we can get an adjudication to some very fundamental issue here that we see as an intolerable infringement of rights,� Bob Long, senior warden of All Saints Church told The Associated Press.
The church scheduled a news conference for 2:30 p.m. to formally announce the unanimous vote of its vestry.
The action sets up a high-profile confrontation between the church and the IRS, which now must decide whether to ask for a hearing before a judge. The judge would then decide on the validity of the agency’s demands.
Terry Lemons, a spokesman for the IRS, did not immediately return a call for comment. IRS officials have said they cannot comment on specific cases.
According to the IRS, the only church ever to be stripped of its tax-exempt status for partisan politicking was the Church at Pierce Creek near Binghamton, N.Y., which was penalized in 1995 after running full-page ads against President Clinton in USA Today and The Washington Times in 1992 during election season.
Before this fall’s congressional races, the IRS warned that it would be scrutinizing churches and charities — important platforms, particularly for Republicans — for unlawful political activity.
The dispute centers on a sermon titled “If Jesus Debated Senator Kerry and President Bush� that was delivered by guest pastor Rev. George Regas just two days before the 2004 election. Though he did not endorse either President Bush or Sen. John Kerry, he said Jesus would condemn the Iraq war and Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive war.
“I believe Jesus would say to Bush and Kerry: ’War is itself the most extreme form of terrorism. President Bush, you have not made dramatically clear what have been the human consequences of the war in Iraq,�’ Regas said, according to a transcript.
The IRS reprimanded the church in June 2005 and asked that it promise to be more careful. Church officials refused.
Last week, the IRS demanded documents and an interview with the rector by the end of the month.
On Thursday, the church’s 26-member vestry voted unanimously to resist those demands, Long said.