WHY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SHOULD LOSE TAX-EXEMPT STATUS OVER POLITICAL ADVOCACY
The Catholic Church’s historic tax-exempt status in the United States is based on a straightforward principle: religious institutions are exempt from taxation as long as they refrain from engaging in overt political advocacy.
This longstanding principle exists to protect both the church and the state from entanglement, manipulation, and undermining of democratic processes. When a religious institution chooses to leverage its influence to promote partisan or one-sided political agendas, such as the Catholic Church’s vocal support for open borders and mass immigration policies, it crosses a constitutional and ethical line.
This is not a matter of silencing religious belief. It is about holding institutions accountable when they act as political actors under the protection of tax-exemption designed for religious, not partisan, purposes.
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As the Trump administration escalates its aggressive deportation campaign, Roman Catholic bishops across the United States are raising objections to the treatment of migrants and challenging the president’s policy. For years many bishops focused their most vocal political engagement on ending abortion, rarely putting as much capital behind any other issue. Many supported President Trump’s actions to overturn Roe v. Wade, and targeted Democratic Catholic politicians who supported abortion access. But now they are increasingly invoking Pope Leo XIV’s leadership and Pope Francis’s legacy against Mr. Trump’s immigration actions, and prioritizing humane treatment of immigrants as a top public issue. They are protesting the president’s current domestic policy bill in Congress, showing up at court hearings to deter Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and urging Catholics and non-Catholics alike to put compassion for humans ahead of political allegiances. The image in Los Angeles and elsewhere of ICE agents seizing people in Costco parking lots and carwashes “rips the illusion that’s being portrayed, that this is an effort which is focused on those who have committed significant crimes,” said Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington, in an interview from Rome. “The realities are becoming more ominous,” he said. “It is becoming clearer that this is a wholesale, indiscriminate deportation effort aimed at all those who came to the country without papers.” Cardinal McElroy, who has frequently spoken against Mr. Trump’s immigration policies, was named the archbishop of Washington as one of Pope Francis’s final major actions in the United States, reflecting the Vatican’s desire to counter the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. Immigration arrests are rising sharply, and ICE has a goal of apprehending 3,000 people a day. “A very large number of Catholic bishops, and religious leaders in general, are outraged by the steps which the administration is taking to expel mostly hardworking, good people from the United States,” Cardinal McElroy said. < Source> |
A Political Pulpit, Not a Neutral Ministry
The U.S. Catholic bishops and affiliated organizations have repeatedly taken public, coordinated stances supporting permissive immigration policies, often cloaked in theological language about “welcoming the stranger.” Yet, these positions increasingly resemble lobbying efforts, rather than spiritual teachings. When bishops use homilies, diocesan resources, and even Catholic Charities to pressure lawmakers, condemn border enforcement, or shield illegal immigrants from deportation, they are not simply preaching morality; they are wading directly into the political battlefield.
Open borders are not a spiritual issue; it is a political one, fraught with economic, security, and cultural consequences. When the Church takes a one-sided stance on it, it denies the legitimacy of opposing views, even when those opposing views are grounded in genuine concerns for national sovereignty, public safety, national security, and the rule of law. Worse, it does so using resources subsidized by American taxpayers who may fundamentally disagree with it.
A Subsidized Political Machine
Tax exemption is not a divine right; it is a privilege granted by a pluralistic society in the interest of encouraging community benefit and religious freedom. It becomes a form of government subsidy when religious organizations avoid taxes yet use their resources to influence public policy.
Imagine any other tax-exempt nonprofit—say, a hospital or university, explicitly campaigning for open borders or funding legal defenses for undocumented immigrants as a central mission. They would face immediate scrutiny from the IRS and possibly lose their 501(c)(3) status. The Church should not be immune simply because it wraps its political messaging in scripture.
When Catholic institutions campaign for policies that change the electorate, reshape national identity, and overwhelm local services, all while retaining privileged tax-free status, it constitutes a distortion of democracy. American citizens are subsidizing a religious institution that acts as a powerful political lobby, often without their consent and in opposition to their values.
A Call for Consistency and Accountability
The solution is not to ban the Church from speaking out; it is to apply the law consistently. If the Catholic Church wishes to continue as a tax-exempt religious organization, it must refrain from systemic partisan advocacy. If it chooses instead to be an influential political voice, especially in favor of radical immigration policies, it must forfeit its exemption and operate on the same playing field as every other political entity in the country.
Bottom Line
No institution should be allowed to preach politics while shielded from the financial responsibilities that come with civic participation. If the Church wants to shape policy, it must do so as a political actor, not as a tax-privileged sanctuary above the law.
The Catholic Church has a right to its beliefs. But if it continues to push one-sided political agendas like open borders from the pulpit to the Capitol, it should pay its fair share like every other political organization. The integrity of both church and democracy demands no less.
We are so screwed.
-- Steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
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“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius “A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell “Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar “Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS