In what appears to be complete defiance of tax law, a Catholic church in California sent out two newsletters that were stuffed with flyers claiming that voting for Democrats is a mortal sin. Two weeks later, they published an article saying that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is “influenced by Satan.”
Someone Forgot About That Whole Church-State Separation Thing
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in San Diego sent its parishioners a bulletin the week of October 16. Stuffed in the bulletin was a flyer which stated:
“It is a mortal sin to vote Democrat … immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell.”
The flyer referenced the “Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics,” published by Catholic Answers Press, which lists “five non-negotiable issues,” and said:
“… Democrats violate each of them, while Republicans cross none.”
The difference between the flyer and the voter’s guide, though, is that the voter’s guide never references a political party.
It didn’t stop with the flyer, though.
In the October 30 edition of the bulletin, an article appeared — this time published in the bulletin and not stuffed in after the fact — stating that Hillary Clinton gets her marching orders from the devil himself.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune:
“The bulletin took a quote from a 2015 speech by Clinton out of context to make it appear that through Satanic intervention the Democratic nominee, using techniques from trailblazing community organizer Saul Alinsky, was telling Christians to change their religious beliefs to support abortion … The article goes on to criticize clergy and politicians who think Christians who are concerned about these issues are homophobic or Islamophobic. ‘We are called by politicians such as Hillary Clinton, deplorables,’ it said.”
Legal experts have weighed in on the controversy, stating that it’s an obvious violation of IRS rules:
“‘This is absolutely blatant. I would use that word. It is a blatant violation on the ban on campaign activity,’ said Richard Schmalbeck, a law professor at Duke University who specializes in nonprofit regulations. ‘It’s among the worst. Really, when you’re threatening eternal damnation, there really aren’t bigger guns than that.'”
Diocese No Evil
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego says the church did not authorize the flyer that was stuffed into the October 16 bulletin. Diocese spokesman Kevin Eckery said:
“It’s not a mortal sin to vote for Democrats, number one. And number two, the church doesn’t take positions on this, and we’re not going to … The pastor said [the flyer] was not something he had reviewed or approved.”
It’s possible, I suppose, that someone gained unauthorized access to the church’s bulletin. I guess it’s possible that someone covertly stuffed the flyers in there. Possible, though improbable.
Let’s say we give the church the benefit of the doubt on the flyers. The second article, though, printed directly in their bulletin, poses an even greater problem:
“Bruce Hopkins, a law professor at the University of Kansas, said he didn’t think that the flier about Democrats is a problem because it mentions a party, not a specific candidate. The Oct. 30 bulletin — the one that says Satan is working through Clinton — is an issue, he said.
‘I think it is a problem, as a matter of law, when you have her mentioned, specifically, that close to an election day,’ Hopkins said. ‘It’s an obvious criticism of her in the context of the campaign.'”
The church and the diocese can attempt to explain this away all they want. However, this looks like a pretty clear violation of IRS laws.
Priest Confirms He Wrote The Article
Though Eckery initially told the San Diego Union-Tribune that it “wasn’t clear” who wrote the article linking Hillary Clinton to Satan, ABC10News out of San Diego reported:
“Father Richard Perozich, a priest at the church, told 10News he wrote the page-long article called’Voting Catholic’ in the parish newsletter.”
Oh, and did I mention that the church is also a polling place?
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