An Atheist state-church separation group today called for an
investigation by the Internal Revenue Service into the activities of a
Roman Catholic Bishop in Brooklyn, NY for possible violation of campaign
and IRS regulations.
On Monday, the New York Times revealed that Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio
praised Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito J. Lopez in a barrage of
“robocalls” to voters. Lopez was key in defeating a bill that would
have permitted victims of childhood sex abuse to file suit years after
alleged molestation. The Roman Catholic Church has paid out hundreds of
millions of dollars to settle or avoid lawsuits and protect clerical
molesters.
Mr. Lopez was supporting Working Families Party candidate Maritza Davila
who came in second in a three way race.
In the New York Times piece, a prominent legal scholar warned that
Bishop DiMarzio could have violated laws pertaining to electioneering by
nonprofit religious groups.
Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, said that the bishop’s
robocalls “are another example of where Roman Catholic leaders are
engaging in partisan campaigning in order to further their own social
agenda and insulate themselves from the legal system. The income tax
exemption that the bishop’s parishioners get for supporting the church
is one that should be denied if the church is going to engage in
partisan electoral politics.”
Buckner added: ”This is the bargain the church has entered in exchange
for this exempt status, and the IRS must demand that the church obey the
law like everyone else.”
“If the head of the Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes an estimated 1.5
million Catholics, wanted to simply ‘praise’ an elected official, he
could have done so on any day other than the one before a
hotly-contested race.”
Dave Silverman, Communications Director and Vice President of American
Atheists, said that religious groups are becoming bolder in possibly
violating election laws.
“We see growing evidence of this over issues like abortion and gay
marriage,” said Silverman. ”But the Brooklyn Diocese has engaged in a
blatant quid-pro-quo in supporting politicians who try to immunize the
church from sex abuse litigation, and partisan candidates who agree with
the church’s political agenda.”
AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for
Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and
addresses issues of First
Amendment public policy.
American Atheists, Inc.
PO BOX 158
Cranford, NJ 07016
Tel.: (908) 276-7300
Fax: (908) 276-7402