A Catholic group urges rejection of money from stem-cell proponents

[proud2BlibKansan]

Letters prompt complaint to IRS
A Catholic group urges rejection of money from stem-cell proponents.
By STEVE KRASKE
The Kansas City Star
A Washington lawyer has filed an IRS complaint about an allegedly threatening mailing from the Missouri Catholic Conference to state lawmakers.

The mailing urged lawmakers to reject campaign contributions from a pro-stem cell group known as Supporters of Health Research and Treatments, of Kirkwood, Mo.

According to documents that lawyer Marcus S. Owens filed with the Internal Revenue Service, lawmakers received $300 donations from the group in late 2005 and this year. He said the Catholic Conference sought to intimidate lawmakers into returning the checks at the risk of facing publicity in Catholic newspapers.

“We believe that this letter, as well as numerous others like it that the MCC has sent, is a crude effort at intimidation, designed to threaten political candidates into submission by using church resources,” Owens said in his letter to IRS Commissioner Mark Everson.

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Owens, with the firm Caplin & Drysdale, is a former director of the IRS’s tax-exempt organization’s division. He urged the IRS to launch a tax-status inquiry of the Catholic Conference and stop the group from taking any further actions against lawmakers who accepted the donations.

more . . .
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/15114175.htm

[Vidar]

1. Politicians rejecting money? Get real!

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Yep pretty dumb move alright

and looks like they are getting in trouble with the IRS too.

[Lowell]

3. This should backfire

the carpetbaggers in congress should immediately revoke the Missouri Catholics tax exempt status for interfering in politics. But then of course we know what will really happen, the crongress critters will continue to stuff money from any lobby they can into their pockets as they mouth the words the church wants to hear.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. I sure hope it backfires

[Boohooey]

5. These blackmailers are thinking too small!

Why don't they lean on their bishops to urge all good parishioners to adopt a snowflake baby, stat?

Oh, and of course - the bishops must tell all the Catholic parishioners in Missouri that any practicing Catholic (even one who thinks creating multiple embryos in fertility clinics is wrong) who does not agree that stem-cell research with some of the embryos headed inevitably for the trash is immoral, must notify their pastors and bishops immediately. Their contributions to the church must be returned, after all, and future donations must be refused.

And leaning on your own church leaders is not even a violation of tax-exempt rules. Much better strategy for making a splash, legally speaking.