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"Antiwar Sermon Brings IRS Warning," LA Times
This story by Patricia Ward Biederman and Jason Felch discusses the ongoing IRS investigation of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, for allowing the Church's former pastor, Rev. George F. Regas, to give a guest sermon against the war in Iraq at a Sunday service two days before the 2004 elections. The story contains these excerpts:
Some congregants were upset that a sermon citing Jesus Christ's championing of peace and the poor was the occasion for an IRS probe.
"I'm appalled," said 70-year-old Anne Thompson of Altadena, a professional singer who also makes vestments for the church.
"In a government that leans so heavily on religious values, that they would pull a stunt like this, it makes me heartsick."
Joe Mirando, an engineer from Burbank, questioned whether the 3,500-member church would be under scrutiny if it were not known for its activism and its liberal stands on social issues.
"The question is, is it politically motivated?" he said. "That's the underlying feeling of everyone here. I don't have enough information to make a decision, but there's a suspicion."
Click here for the full story. Click here for the text of the offending sermon.