New details on Catholic, Mormon leaders' role on Proposition 8

There is something of a new revelation involving the cooperation between San Francisco's Catholic archbishop and the Mormon church in the campaign to pass Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. These ties don't seem in themselves to be too big a surprise -- though it's possible that somewhere in this bitter fight will be a smoking gun of something. Details from AP:

San Francisco’s Roman Catholic archbishop says he invited leaders of the Mormon Church to get involved in the campaign to pass a gay marriage ban in California this year. Archbishop George Niederauer said he issued the invitation at the request of his fellow bishops. Niederauer wrote a column to be published in a diocesan newspaper Friday. In it, he says staff from the California Catholic Conference informed him in May that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had actively supported a similar measure eight years ago. Niederauer served as bishop of Salt Lake City for 11 years before moving to San Francisco. He says his service in Salt Lake City prompted him to send a letter to Mormon leaders there asking them to cooperate again.

--Shelby Grad

Comments

[Ed Greenberg]

Could somebody explain to me why these institutions still have tax exempt 501(c)(3) status?

[Dave Nelson]

To Ed Greenberg: As much as I don't like it, neither the Mormon nor Catholic churches violated IRS regulations regarding Prop. 8. Tax exempt organizations cannot endorse candidates for office nor political parties. But as long as they don't spend more than 20% of their receipts on political issues, they can take public stands on social issues--even if they're part of ballot measures.

[131945]

I prefer the good old days when the Catholics would have burned the Mormon cultists at the stake as HERETICS!!!

[Tom Walker]

I would be happy to explain why these institutions still have tax exempt status. It is because they are not violating the law. They do not endorse candidates or parties. The Constitution guarantees their right to speak out on moral issues. It really isn't any more complicated than that.

[Jay]

Dave Nelson: It is not at all clear that the LDS Church did not violate California election laws. Tlhey are under investigation for lying on the forms they filed about how much they contributed to the campaign. I hope that they are very heavily fined for their lies. I wish they could be fined for the lies they told in the campaign itself.