Bp. Jenky attacked through the IRS for his sermon about Pres. Obama and faux catholic politicians

Not long ago Bp. Jenky in Peoria during a sermon really hammered President Obama and quisling catholic politicians.  I wrote about Bp. Jenky’s sermon HERE.

Excerpts:

“May God have mercy on the souls of those politicians who pretend to be Catholic in church, but in their public lives, rather like Judas Iscariot, betray Jesus Christ by how they vote and how they willingly cooperate with intrinsic evil.”
. . . . .

“Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care. In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path.”

In my opinion His Excellency was dead on the money.

Are you surprised to learn that not everyone appreciated Bp. Jenky’s remarks?  No! Really!

In the Chicago Tribune we find:

Complaint filed with IRS over homily by Peoria bishop

By Manya A. Brachear
Tribune reporter

A prominent advocate for the separation of church and state filed a formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service Thursday, accusing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria of violating federal law by intervening in a political campaign.

The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church, alleges that a fiery homily by Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky last Sunday effectively urged Catholics to vote against Obama in the 2012 presidential election.

[…]

Yet another example of liberal tolerance. Furthermore, I don’t think that group has the slightest clue as to what “separation of church and state” means.

WDTPRS kudos to Bp. Jenky, again.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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26 Comments

  1. Pingback: Bishop Jenky attacked for sermon on Obama, fake Catholics?

  2. Kerry says:

    Whine…whimper…sob, sob.

  3. Time to support a Bishop folks. Regardless of what Jekey may or may not have done in the past… he has the attention of the revenuers. I look forward to the day were more bishops tell the IRS to go…. well… something charitable while still telling the IRS that Catholics don’t give a damn what might upset them.

  4. oldcanon2257 says:

    As soon as I saw the headline of this blog post, I prayed the Memorare intercessory prayer to Our Blessed Mother to ask her to protect our bishops and priests from these diabolical attacks. The Memorare was the first thing that came to my mind because it was one of the few prayers I could remember off the top off my head, because of the relevant line “never was it known that anyone who fled to Thy protection, implored Thy help or sought Thy intercession, was left unaided” and because of Our Blessed Mother’s title “Our Lady of the Clergy”.

    Lately it seems that Satan and his minions have been re-doubling their effort in their unceasing attacks on bishops. Our bishops need our support. We need to re-double our prayers for them.

    Is there a prayer to Our Lady of the Clergy with imprimatur? If there is and somebody here could post a link, it would be much appreciated (so that I could print it out and keep it with me in my wallet and pray anywhere).

  5. tzard says:

    It doesn’t say they *are* investigating, but that some nut sent a letter. I’m sure they get letters all the time.

    Of course it’s always a possibility anyone can abuse the power of a government bureau – it’s always happened. It may even be more probable nowadays in the current climate. But we nothing’s happened yet. If he sent it today – I doubt it’s even been received by the IRS mail-room.

  6. adcola says:

    “Reverend” Lynn should separate himself from the affairs of the IRS.

  7. aarmstrong says:

    Good for Bishop Jenky. It’s too bad that he is one of the only ones standing up against the evil in our country. They can’t threaten all the bishops.

  8. disco says:

    He’s also catching some flak from the anti-defamation league in Chicago who apparently took issue with his reference to Hitler’s stance with regard to the church. I pray that he doesn’t cave into pressure and recant or apologize for any part of his sermon.

  9. Read the whole article. The ADL has gotten involved too.

  10. Captain Peabody says:

    Why in the name of Aunt Mabel’s toadstool tonic would the ADL be getting involved in this? His Excellency didn’t mention the Holocaust, but Hitler’s (AND Stalin’s) policies with regard to churches, health care, and schools. It’s nonsensical to act as though the only parties injured by Hitler were Jews or that no one can mention his other crimes and policies without being offensive to Jews. In any event, if the explicit statements to that effect were not enough, His Excellency’s grouping of Hitler together with Stalin should have more than made clear that is not the distinctive parts of Nazi ideology and practice (such as anti-Semitism and the Final Solution) that His Excellency was referring to and comparing Obama to, but merely the totalitarian policies enacted by both him AND Stalin (and a lot of other totalitarian governments, to be clear) towards churches, schools, and healthcare. What, can no one mention Hitler anymore without incurring the wrath of the ADL?

    Honestly, having a secularist activist complain is about as notable as a leaf falling in autumn. The ADL, however, ought to know better.

  11. pm125 says:

    The truth hurts, so try to choke the messenger – use an agency that has other priorities for cover.

  12. Clinton R. says:

    Heaven forbid anyone, much less a Catholic bishop say anything remotely bad about Dear Leader Obama. As for the buffoonish “Reverand” Lynn, the separation of Church and State clearly means that the State “… should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” Do we understand that last part? The US government should not prohibit the free exercise of religion. As in, Obama has no right to force the Catholic Church to violate its divine teachings.

  13. jflare says:

    Would someone PLEASE file a suit against Rev Lynn and the Americans for Separation?! If they get their way, we won’t HAVE a First Amendment worth reference. Our Founders WROTE the First Amendment precisely to protect individuals and organizations from being bullied by the State. If the State can tell a Church what they may say in a homily regarding a public policy, there truly will not BE any safeguard against tyranny.

    As for the ADL, they’d be well advised to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.; they appear to need a history lesson. If the Obama Administration hasn’t enacted laws requiring Catholics to be rounded up and murdered, well, neither did the Nazis.
    Not at first.
    They began with “mere harassment”, proceeded to rounding up Jews and others, and finally progressed to extermination camps. But this progression happened over most of a decade.
    If the Obama Administration can force Catholic hospitals to either close or do as the abortion lobby insists..precisely WHAT will there be to stand in the way??

  14. Supertradmum says:

    Fantastic bishop. Separating the wheat from the chaff. See some musings on Church and State from an atheist who “got it”. http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/in-matters-of-faith-morals-and.html

  15. wmeyer says:

    The idiocy is pervasive. But as our schools–both public and parochial–have been damaged by the application of Dewey, we can expect no better.

    There is, of course, no separation of church and state in the Constitution. What is there is a constraint on government against meddling in the affairs of churches, and a further constraint against the government meddling in the freedom of individuals to speak. And oddly enough, both are contained in the 1st amendment.

    Our freedoms are from our Creator; limits on government were set down by men, to ensure those freedoms were not encroached upon, usurped, or denied.

  16. AnnAsher says:

    Prayers for Bp Jenky.
    The IRS really needs to go. I reckon it will before too long.

  17. frjim4321 says:

    Well the tax code is pretty clear; churches enjoy a tax-free status so long as they refrain from partisan politics. The homily by this ordinary was very much partisan and indeed therefore possibly in violation of the law.

    We do not pay tax on our church building, but we do pay tax on the residence. It’s the law.

    But if we make political endorsements from the pulpit we call our tax-free status into question.

    The homily of this bishop went well beyond the guidelines of Faithful Citizenship. I really would not grieve if he were made accountable.

  18. PA mom says:

    Bull. So Planned Parenthood’s political contributions (over 200,000 at a federal level only in 2010) don’t cause it to lose its tax status, but a single sermon from an individual who is still a United States citizen with all of the rights accorded him does? So the Federal govt is allowed to publicly put the Church in its bullseye, strip it of constitutional rights and its voices are all to be gagged? They encourage that fear because they have no chance with the American people in a fair fight. By all means encourage parishioners to walk and take their contributions with them elsewhere if they don’t like it, but wishing the Federal gov’t interference in a simple homily is something I think you should really reconsider.

  19. Jim of Bowie says:

    Not to worry as long as the Dems are holding political rallies in black Protestant churches. As to Hitler, read the Bonhoeffer biography for the Hitler treatment of churches and clergy.

    “I really would not grieve if he were made accountable.”
    Great. Bishop persecuted, priest happy.

  20. robtbrown says:

    frjim4321 says:

    Well the tax code is pretty clear; churches enjoy a tax-free status so long as they refrain from partisan politics. The homily by this ordinary was very much partisan and indeed therefore possibly in violation of the law.

    This is a much more complex issue than you want to portray it:

    1. There is no criticism of Obama as a candidate.

    2. Criticizing the govt (here, the Obama Presidency) is not a disqualifier for the Church’s tax free status.

    3. Dem candidates regularly make appearances at Black Protestant churches, with no IRS anxiety by the likes of Barry Lynn.

  21. oldcanon2257 says:

    frjim4321 says:

    Well the tax code is pretty clear; churches enjoy a tax-free status so long as they refrain from partisan politics. The homily by this ordinary was very much partisan and indeed therefore possibly in violation of the law.

    I just re-read the text of Bp. Jenky’s homily 3 times in its entirety. The only thing he did was giving an update on the current situation, comparing and contrasting it to historical situations then urging the faithful to be transformed in the risen Christ the same way Our Lord’s disciples were after His resurrection, stressing the gravity of the threat Catholic ministries are facing from the secular world, urging the faithful to get off their behind and witness for Christ in the public square by voting their ***Catholic*** conscience, re-emphasizing the evil of abortion, telling them not to fear any worldly power when professing the the Faith in their effort to evangelize because St. Michael and the angels have our back. He then reaffirmed the kingship of Christ and that Our God is the One True God.

    The homily is firmly grounded in 2000 years of Catholic teachings, and through it Bp. Jenky fulfilled his role as teacher and defender of the Catholic Faith. Nowhere did I see His Excellency endorsing any candidate. He raised awareness of the fact that Catholic institutions/ministries are facing hostility to the Catholic Faith due to actions and policies of the secular government. He reminded his flock that the Church as a whole – the faithful in particular – has a responsibility to defend and propagate the Faith through their actions in the public square in their everyday’s life as Catholics living IN the world.

    After careful examination of the text, I still do not detect any partisan politics in his homily as frjim4321 has claimed above.

  22. PostCatholic says:

    This doesn’t strike me as a lot to worry about unless and until the IRS opens an investigation. Clergy frequently in their homilies and remarks often skate up to boundaries of the Federal tax exemption; they often skate right over it, too. Catholic clergy tend to do that a lot less often than do the leaders of many other denominations. Unless Jenky’s address was particularly odious (I don’t plan to listen to decide that for myself) or part of a pattern, I would expect the IRS has more bigger fish to fry.

  23. PostCatholic says:

    more and bigger*

  24. Imrahil says:

    There is no religious freedom at all if there is no freedom to be politically partisan in the name of religion. (That is not saying this freedom should be used in regular circumstances on a regular basis.)

    If the tax code is clear against that, then so much the worse for the tax code. Forgive my impudence as an unaffected foreigner.

    Whether the sermon was partisan is something lawyers have to sort out. In this respect, I figure very much those who said it was not are in the right. But let’s face it – I hope not to serve the adversary with ideas [dear @Fr Z, if you think I am, please cut this paragraph and leave the rest] – this is seeking loopholes (which probably do exist!) in law for what should not have been forbidden by law in the first place. For from a nonjuridical [!] horse-sense point of view, if this sermon was not partisan, then what is a partisan sermon.

    “Vote in a Christian manner”, as the German bishops used to officially address their flock by pastoral letter before elections where they were to decide between Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and Liberal Democrats.

  25. Trad Tom says:

    Wow….who da thunk it? I’m not referring to the actual post, I’m referring to a comment. Mysteriously surprising!

  26. Pingback: CU Weekly 193: Janky(s!) | The Catholic Underground

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