[Peace-discuss] Another interesting development with regard to "peace churches"

[John W.]

Anti-war sermon could cost liberal church

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Internal Revenue Service has warned a prominent 
liberal church that it could lose its tax-exempt status because of an 
anti-war sermon a guest preacher gave on the eve of the 2004 presidential 
election, according to church officials.

The Rev. George F. Regas did not urge parishioners at All Saints Episcopal 
Church to support either President Bush or John Kerry, but he was critical 
of the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts.

The IRS warned the church in June that its tax-exempt status was in 
jeopardy because such organizations are prohibited from intervening in 
political campaigns and elections.

The church's rector, J. Edwin Bacon, told his congregation about the 
problem Sunday.

"It's important for everyone to understand that the IRS concerns are not 
supported by the facts," Bacon said.

Bacon later said he chose Sunday to inform the congregation because Nobel 
Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu was in attendance and because he 
believes a decision from the IRS is imminent. He called the IRS threat "a 
direct assault on freedom of speech and freedom of religion."

All Saints has long been vocal about its positions. Its Web site mentions 
the upcoming special election in California and says three 
Republican-backed propositions would "alter the very fabric of our lives as 
a democracy by limiting the right to representation and the right to 
express a political point of view." Regas, who gave the 2004 sermon, 
retired 10 years ago as the church's rector.