Alison Girone / With permission
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reaffirmed that the Church does not endorse or oppose political candidates in response to the IRS announcement that churches can support candidates without losing their tax-exempt status.
Chieko Noguchi, executive director of public affairs for the USCCB, addressed the matter in a July 8 statement, saying that the Church’s role in political discourse remains focused on moral and spiritual formation, not electoral influence.
“The IRS was addressing a specific case, and it doesn’t change how the Catholic Church engages in public debate,” Noguchi stated. “The Church seeks to help Catholics form their conscience in the Gospel so they might discern which candidates and policies would advance the common good. The Catholic Church maintains its stance of not endorsing or opposing political candidates.”
CatholicVote previously reported that the IRS issued a major reinterpretation of the Johnson Amendment July 7, granting churches the ability to endorse political candidates from the pulpit without jeopardizing their 501(c)(3) status. The change came through a legal settlement involving two Texas churches and a Christian broadcasters group, which successfully argued that restricting pastoral endorsements infringed on free speech and religious liberty.
