Most Americans Say Churches Mixing Politics Should Lose Tax Exemption

Ben1943 »

Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:27 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 3

I went to mass this Sunday before election day at a Church in Bishop Joseph Galanti's jurisdiction in southern New Jersey and the whole fifteen minute homely (sermon) was theological babble for "if you vote for the man who voted to leave babies resulting from an abortion to die on the operating table (Barack Obama) you will go to hell". Thankfully, Bishop Galanti's "horror video" was not shown. I am sure that I was not sitting in the only Catholic Church that presented this political announcement as a homily.

Like many political announcements, the homily contained lies and scare tactics. It presented political party rhetoric and not the message of Christ. Barack Obama's position on abortion was misrepresented and there was no mention of starting unnecessary pre-emptive wars based on lies, torturing prisoners, tax policy that encourages greed and sends American jobs overseas, calling programs that help seniors and poor people to survive socialism, and the other excesses of the current administation and it's heirs.

Hopefully the people who were in the pews next to me do not have the mentality of 17th century peasants; and I hope that they will not vote the conscious and judgment of the leaders of the Catholic Church who brought us the child abuse cover up scandal rather than voting their own conscious, but one can never be sure.

If the Catholic Church paid property and income taxes like other "political parties" some of the tax problems of older people who are losing their homes because of an unfair tax burden would be solved. The churches and the other properties that the Catholilc church would have to forfeit could be used to provide housing for people who have lost their homes in the credit crisis. This would be more in keeping with Christ's teaching.