Church May have to Give Up Tax-Exempt Status
ARLINGTON, VA, Jan 15, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, the founding bishop of the Arlington Diocese, expressed great frustration at the voting pattern of most Catholics in the United States during the recent election. “I find it most alarming because in this election there was a clear-cut choice. We had the experience of the last eight years of the political consequences of a pro-abortion government – all the things that they can do at the local, national and international levels,” he said. The bishop was troubled not only by hypocritical citizens but also politicians. “What disturbs me, then, is the politician, man or woman, who wants to have it both ways,” he said. “They say, ‘I’m a Catholic,’ then espouse all sorts of things that the Catholic Church says are wrong,” he said in the interview with the Arlington Catholic Herald.
He lamented that the Church is constrained in what it is allowed to say by its tax-exempt status. He noted lawsuits have been filed costing the Church hundreds of thousands to defend, centering on stripping the tax status of the Church based on charges that they are too political. The bishop suggests that the time may come when the Church has to say it will give up its tax-exempt status since, “our message isn’t getting out.” He noted his speech was restricted saying, “But with the responsibility of being a bishop, I can’t speak as a private citizen anymore. I would like to. I should be able to.”“If you say the Church is wrong about one serious issue like the pro-life stance, then you’re undermining the whole nature of the Church. The Lord didn’t say, ‘I’m with you all the time, except on some major issues.’ …. The Church is supposed to be guiding people on a day-to-day basis on how to get to heaven … We are saying this (abortion) is intrinsically evil. There’s no time for anybody at any place to have an abortion and say, ‘this is right.’ It’s always, always wrong.
See the interview in the Catholic Herald at: https://www.catholicherald.com/articles/taxexempt.htm