30% of their income, backdated for the last 30 years and include compounded interest and penalties

[kpete]

The news that New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the nation’s most prominent Catholic prelate, will deliver the closing blessing to the Republican National Convention in Florida Should trigger an immediate taxation of his parish for 30% of their income, backdated for the last 30 years and include compounded interest and penalties

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/cardinal-timothy-dolans-gop-convention-blessing-prompts-debate/2012/08/23/6d69c280-ed65-11e1-866f-60a00f604425_story.html

[DURHAM D]

1. AMEN.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

2. Seriously, do people truly not know that that is not a violation of tax exempt status?

You may not like the law, but it is the law, and there is nothing about what Dolan is doing that is against IRS regulations.

[Posteritatis]

12. Silly facts, getting in the way of peoples' kneejerks. (nt)

[kelly1mm]

3. You do know that Cardinal Dolan has given blessings at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Democratic

and Republican Conventions, right?

[SickOfTheOnePct]

4. Thank you!

I thought I must be the only one that realized that multiple clergy members offer blessings at every convention, Democratic and Republican.

[rfranklin]

5. Still doesn't make it right...

Get those cross dressing perverts our of politics, thank you.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

6. Sorry, but I'm for freedom of speech

Even speech I don't agree with.

[rfranklin]

7. But wait, is there something political that the First Amendment would apply or...

is it a matter of freedom of religion or both? Hard to tell here because if the priest is making a political statement, he's violating a law. If he's making a religious statement, it could be a matter of freedom of religion but the venue makes it kind of poltiical.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

8. Priests, and all clergy for that matter, are permitted to make political statements

The line is between doing it in the church, on church property or in official church publications or as part of official church duties. And even then, it isn't a violation of a law, i.e., he couldn't be arrested for it. It would be a violation of an IRS regulation, which would endanger tax exempt status.

Offering a prayer at a political convention doesn't fit into any of those categories.

[Posteritatis]

13. You do know that clergy are not constitutionally forbidden from holding opinions, right? (nt)

[indepat]

9. I'll second that

[meow2u3]

10. To be fair, Dolan has been cardinal only for a couple years

Have the 30% tax backdated for 7 years, not counting compound interest and penalties. Previous cardinals have not been in-your-face partisans like Dolan.

[Recovered Repug]

11. Should churches that allow politicians to speak also be penalized in the same way?

[tbone8]

14. Rev. Jeremiah Wright

I don't here any discussion about Rev. Jeremiah Wright???

[Yo_Mama]

15. Political functions are routinely

prayed for, speechified, blessed, etc.

There'll be some such deal at the Dem convention too. Here's the agenda from the 2008 Democratic convention. Might want to read it and think a bit:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26379093/ns/politics-decision_08/t/democratic-convention-schedule/#.UDbizKPECjU