| That
is a snippet from yesterday's church bulletin. I made note of it
because it is, to my knowledge, the first time a parish priest has come
this close to condemning anything this filthy Obama government (silence of the West) have
perped. Now this ... |
First Amendment: Government's assault on religious liberty has hit a
new low as the IRS
(used by Obama as a personal Gestapo) settles with atheists by promising to monitor
sermons for mentions of the right to life and traditional marriage.
A lawsuit filed by the
Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) asserted that
the Internal Revenue Service ignored complaints about churches'
violating their tax-exempt status by routinely promoting political
issues, legislation and candidates from the pulpit.
The FFRF has temporarily withdrawn its suit in return for the IRS's
agreement to monitor sermons and homilies for proscribed speech that
the foundation believes includes things like condemnation of gay
marriage and criticism of ObamaCare for its contraceptive mandate.
The irony of this agreement is that it's being enforced by the same Tax
Exempt and Government Entities Division of the IRS that was once headed
by Lois "Fifth Amendment" Lerner and that openly targeted Tea Party and
other conservative groups.
Among the questions that the IRS asked of those targeted groups was the
content of their prayers.
Those who objected to the monitoring of what is said and done in
mosques for signs of terrorist activity have no problem with this one,
though monitoring what's said in houses of worship is a clear violation
of the First Amendment. Can you say "chilling effect"?
Congress can make no laws prohibiting the free exercise of religion. So
it's not clear where the IRS gets off doing just that by spying on
religious leaders lest they comment on issues and activities by
government that are contrary to or impose on their religious
consciences. Our country was founded by people fleeing this kind of
government-monitored and mandated theology last practiced in the Soviet
Union.
The FFRF cites as its authority the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which
states that tax-exempt groups cannot endorse candidates. A 2009 court
ruling determined that the IRS must staff someone to monitor church
politicking.
The FFRF claims that the IRS has not adhered to the ruling and that the
settlement amounts to enforcing both the Johnson Amendment and the
court ruling.
