By Hilary White
WICHITA, Kansas, August 22, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Christian pastor in Wichita, Kansas has told WorldNetDaily that his church’s pro-life advocacy has resulted in an audit by the Internal Revenue Service. Mark Holick of the Spirit One Christian Center said that the audit came at the same time as the state attorney general’s case against Wichita late-term abortionist George Tiller.
The US has similar laws to those of Canada that restrict direct political involvement by charitable organisations. The IRS informed the church that their activities in recent elections may have violated the federal tax code and they are at risk of losing their tax-exempt status.
Holick told local television news, “Every time we speak truth that somebody doesn’t want to hear, they’re going to be mad at the messenger.”
The IRS letter to the church points to the use of the church’s sign which was used last year to criticise Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Paul Morrison during the elections. The letter also cites the use of the church’s website to oppose Hilary Clinton’s campaign to be picked as Democrat candidate for president.
The issue has had plenty of television news coverage, but in each case, the coverage was careful to frame it as a church “intervening” or interfering in a political campaign. NBC news coverage, while talking about the church’s opposition to the individual candidates, declines to mention that the opposition was based not on party affiliation but on the candidates’ support for abortion, a moral issue.
Local news coverage by KATV allowed Rev. Holick to say, “These are not political issues; they are clear gospel Christian issues,” but cut off his comments clarifying what exactly those issues are.
But to WorldNetDaily, Holick was allowed to be more forthcoming. Holick said that he had responded to the IRS letter with clear explanations, including biblical quotes, as to the nature of his church’s activities.
WorldNetDaily reports that all of the evidence cited by the IRS related to the church’s pro-life messages and activities. “This is simply the latest step in an effort to silence our Christian witness outside abortion mills,” said Holick. “The IRS is a powerful weapon in the hands of those who desire to censor Christianity and remove gentle Christians from proclaiming Christ at these gates of hell!”