Church Politics

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was recently criticized by political commentator Bill Maher for counting the 16.5 percent of the income he and his wife earned in recent years as charitable giving, because the bulk of the estimated $7 million either went to the Mormon Church in the form of tithes or to charities affiliated with the Church. This has begged the questions: is it "charitable giving" when the faithful donate or tithe to their churches; and should a church even be considered a "charity" if it is not directly aiding the poor or doing similar work?

"That's the strict interpretation of the law, so from a legal standpoint, there's nothing wrong with what he said – that 16 percent of his income went to charity, under the legal definition," said Ole Anthony, president of watchdog ministry the Trinity Foundation, known for its investigations of popular evangelists like Benny Hinn and Eddie Long.

"I would think, however, that integrity would want you to say just as it was because the public's view of charity is helping feed the poor. So I would hope that there would be a distinction made, at least if you're a presidential candidate, that you would make a distinction between the tithes to your church and giving to charity," he told The Christian Post. more >>

A Texas congregation is considering a vote to break away from Presbyterian Church (USA) due to the denomination's growing acceptance of homosexuality.

The congregation of First Presbyterian Church of Longview will hold a vote on Sunday as to whether or not they will remain part of the PC(USA).

Pastor Jonathan Jehorek of First Presbyterian told local media that the vote was unprecedented and that he himself intended to relinquish his ordination in the PC(USA) effective next Monday. more >>

The Episcopal Church is considering changing a canon law that will allow non-baptized people to receive Holy Communion, and the resolution will be discussed at the 78th General Convention in Indianapolis when it meets July 4-12.

Resolution C040, proposed by the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon, seeks to remove Canon 1.17.7, which states that "no unbaptized person shall be eligible to receive Holy Communion in this Church." This will pave the way for Episcopal churches to freely offer Holy Communion to all who seek it, regardless of age, denomination, or whether or not they have been baptized.

One incident that inspired this proposed resolution involves a young woman who visited the diocese's St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Hood River, Ore., and told the Rev. Anna Carmichael, "I really need some support right now and I feel like it starts there." She shared with the pastor, however, that she had never been baptized, but the Rev. Carmichael said that she could not turn her away in her time of need. more >>

Rev. Thomas Williams of the Legion of Christ has admitted that he fathered a child. The Legion has also apologized not acting sooner in regards to the situation.

The Legion of Christ is a religious order made up of over 889 priests. It was originally founded in 1941 by Marcial Maciel, who was later suspended after he was charged with being a pedophile. New scandal now further rocks the religious institution.

Rev. Thomas Williams, an American moral theologian and former superior of the Legion's Rome general office, admitted Tuesday to having a previous relationship with a woman that resulted in her giving birth to a child. While Williams did not reveal the identity of the woman or child, he claimed the incident had happened "a number of years ago." more >>

The General Synod of the Church of Ireland has passed a motion upholding marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

The motion, passed on Saturday, affirms Canon 31, which states that marriage is "a union permanent and lifelong, for better or worse, till death do them part, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side, for the procreation and nurture of children, for the hallowing and right direction of the natural instincts and affections, and for the mutual society, help and comfort which the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity."

The Synod, which met at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, agreed that the Church recognized "no other understanding of marriage." more >>

The head of the Irish Catholic Church apologized last week to victims sexually abused by convicted child molester Father Brendan Smyth, but rejected calls to resign, in the latest development in one of the most publicized stories concerning sex scandals in the Irish church.

The Primate of All Ireland, Cardinal Seán Brady, said he wished to personally apologize to Brendan Boland, a man abused in 1975 at the age of 14 by Smyth. Boland had notified Brady, a teacher at a Catholic school at the time, about the abuse and has said that Brady did not take appropriate action. As many as 100 other young people were reportedly abused by the same priest later over the years.

The only action Brady took at the time, according to Boland, was to promise that the accused priest would have no contact with other young people. Some 20 years later, Boland was told of reports that Smyth had abused other children subsequent to his testimony, according to the BBC. more >>