Fwd: [ NOLA_C3_Discussion] IRS goes after church over anti war remarks

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[NOLA_C3_Discussion] IRS goes after church over anti war remarks

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Published on Saturday, September 16, 2006 by the Los Angeles Times

 

IRS Orders All Saints to Yield Documents on '04 Political Races

 

Antiwar remarks at All Saints in Pasadena were made two days before the 2004

election. The church is ordered to hand over records.

 

by Louis Sahagun

 

 

Stepping up its probe of allegedly improper campaigning by churches, the

Internal Revenue Service on Friday ordered a liberal Pasadena parish to turn

over all the documents and e-mails it produced during the 2004 election year

with references to political candidates.

 

All Saints Episcopal Church and its rector, the Rev. Ed Bacon, have until

Sept. 29 to present the sermons, newsletters and electronic communications.

 

The IRS investigation was triggered by an antiwar sermon delivered by its

former rector, the Rev. George F. Regas, at the church two days before the

2004 presidential election. The summons even requests utility bills to

establish costs associated with hosting Regas' speech. Bacon was ordered to

testify before IRS officials Oct. 11.

 

The tax code bars nonprofits, including churches, from endorsing or

campaigning against candidates in an election.

 

Facing the possible loss of his church's tax-exempt status, Bacon said he

plans to inform his roughly 3,500 active congregants about the investigation

during Sunday's services. Then he plans to seek their advice on whether to

comply.

 

" There is a lot at stake here, " Bacon said in an interview. " If the IRS

prevails, it will have a chilling effect on the practice of religion in

America. "

 

The congregants will have two choices: consent to the IRS request, or

decline, which could result in the matter being referred to the Department

of Justice and, possibly, U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, All Saints'

lead attorney Marcus Owens said.

 

" The congregation's decision will be clear on Sunday or a few days after

that, " Owens said. " My guess is they will be unlikely to respond demurely

and acquiesce in the government's request at this stage. The issues are too

close to the quick of their fundamental religious beliefs. "

 

Members of All Saints have a long history of social activism. The sermon

that attracted the IRS' attention was delivered by Regas, who was well-known

for opposing the Vietnam War, championing female clergy and supporting gays

and lesbians in the church.

 

The medieval-looking church, just east of City Hall, seems to embody staid,

moneyed Old Pasadena, but the liberal outlook goes back decades. During

World War II, its rector spoke out against the internment of Japanese

Americans. Regas headed the church for 28 years before retiring in 1995.

 

Exactly how the congregants will make their feelings known on the IRS issue

is yet to be decided.

 

" It may come via e-mail, or as a yea or nay on Sunday, or some other means, "

said Keith Holeman, a spokesman for the church.

 

IRS spokesman Frank Fotinatos declined to comment on the matter saying, " We

can't confirm or deny any ongoing investigation. "

 

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), who unsuccessfully tried to launch a

Government Accountability Office investigation into the IRS' probes of

churches nationwide last year, called the summons " a very disturbing

escalation " of the agency's scrutiny of All Saints.

 

" I don't want religious organizations to become arms of campaigns, " he said.

" But they should be able to talk about issues of war and peace without fear

of losing tax-exempt status. If they can't, they'll have little to say from

the pulpit. "

 

The view was echoed by the Rev. Bob Edgar, an ordained elder in the United

Methodist Church and general secretary of the National Council of Churches

USA. " I'm outraged, " he said. " Preachers ought to have the liberty to speak

truth to power. "

 

" There is a lot more to be done about this, and it may include some actions

of nonviolent civil disobedience, " Edgar said. " Since 9/11, the IRS, like

the FBI, has been moving back to the 1950s and 1960s when a great deal of

such activity was propagated against church leaders like Martin Luther

King. "

 

In July, the IRS warned 15,000 tax-exempt groups across the nation,

including churches and nonprofit organizations, to stay neutral on politics.

 

At the time, IRS officials said the agency also began expediting

investigations into charges of improper campaigning under a new enforcement

program, the Political Activity Compliance Initiative. Under it, the IRS

will no longer wait for an annual tax return to be filed or for the tax year

to end before investigating allegations of wrongful campaigning.

 

Since 2004, the IRS has investigated more than 200 organizations nationwide.

 

Federal law prohibits the IRS from releasing the names of those under

investigation, but the agency in July said it had 100 cases pending — 40 of

them churches.

 

Among them is the agency's case against the NAACP, which drew the IRS'

attention in July 2004, after the organization's chairman, Julian Bond,

criticized the Bush administration's policies on civil rights.

 

All Saints came under IRS investigation shortly after Regas delivered a

guest sermon that depicted Jesus in a mock debate with then-presidential

candidates George W. Bush and John F. Kerry.

 

The sermon, which did not endorse or oppose any of the candidates, addressed

the moral and religious implications of various social issues facing the

nation at the time.

 

Regas' suggestion that Jesus would have told Bush his preemptive war

strategy in Iraq " has led to disaster " prompted a letter from the agency in

June 2005 stating that " a reasonable belief exists that you may not be a

tax-exempt church. "

 

After nearly a year without communication with the agency, Bacon said he was

" quite surprised " Friday when an IRS agent handed him the summons at his

church.

 

In addition to seeking electronic communications, the summons requests " a

copy of all oral communications identifying candidates for public office

delivered at All Saints Church or at events sponsored by All Saints Church

between Jan. 1, 2004, and Nov. 2, 2004. "

 

The summons also asks for various financial records. " Please provide an

accounting of all expenditures associated with delivery of the sermon,

including allocations of overhead. " All Saints officials take that to mean

such things as the pay of church staff.

 

Bacon said the IRS' renewed investigation raises concerns that it may

reflect an attempt to quash the church's discussions of " fundamental

religious issues with policy implications before the midterm elections, and

in a way that intrudes into core religious practices. "

 

" Despite the drain on our finances and the time we will spend defending this

attack on the freedoms of religion and speech, All Saints Church will

continue without interruption or fear what has distinguished its mission for

125 years, " Bacon said.

 

© Copyright 2006 Los Angeles Times