Keeping the IRS inquisitors busy

Saint Paul at Frater Libertas notes another "non-partisan" gathering of the faithful. He also takes a little shot at the motivations of the local guardians of separation of church and state.

As if the Archdiocese of Mpls/St. Paul doesn't have enough to do in saving the souls of all the sinners in these parts, they've announced their participation in this crucial initiative:

The Office for Social Justice is proud to present Global Warming: A Catholic Perspective, an event we are co-sponsoring with Congregations Caring for Creation. This event kicks off a new level of Archdiocesan involvement to address the consequences of global warming: on the environment, the common good, and especially people in poverty.

I'm sure there won't be any partisan political implications to that presentation. Just in case, maybe George Soros will give the gang from Minnesota Monitor the night off from stalking Michele Bachmann and they'll send a few representatives over to make sure this speech meets with the approval of the Internal Revenue Service.

Indeed, I'm looking forward to their report, which I assume will begin "Any idiot can see that . . . ." More thoughtful folks will understand that liberal or conservative, one has to question if the IRS as the final arbiter of relgious content is really a separation of church and state.

More on ISAIAH

He didn’t go intending to expose “evil,” but to at least give the opposition a listen. He carried no video camera, but this personal report from reader Larry Colson, relating to this post, is worth a read.

I was one of those 'municipal officials' Sturdevant mentioned that attended the ISAIAH meeting in Maple Grove. They invited the city council and city council candidates and the planning commission. I was pretty sure this was going to be a socialist leaning meeting, but as I'd been unable to attend two of the other events they invited me to because of scheduling conflicts, I decided to attend this one. I think you've got to at least listen to citizens if you have a city position.

Their big push in Maple Grove is affordable housing. They want to mandate by ordinance that 20% of all future developments are affordable, and they want to create a land trust in Maple Grove. Their 'ask' (their word) was that we stand up if we supported their efforts to create a land trust in MG. That, of course, is an easy question to answer.

Anyway, their stuff got about as close to the line as they could, and they might have crossed it a few times. Had it gotten a little more political, I would have gotten up and walked out (they put us in the front row, so it would have been obvious), and I'm sure there would have been others. Of course, I suspect that what they really want is to have the city establish and/or fund it, which I'm totally against. Churches are great for establishing charities - governments aren't

As a side note, they had a lady who was a victim of spousal abuse speak. It was moving, but she used 3 words that I didn't ever think I'd heard from a church pulpit - the F one, the S one and the female dog one. Of course, she was quoting her husband, but it was pretty unnecessary. I'm a long way from a prude, but I don't think language like that belongs in church.

I have yet to decide if I'll go to another one of their events. As much of a waste of my time as it was, I somewhat long for the opportunity to speak my mind about what they are asking for. You are absolutely correct: if groups like this wish to form political movements in and around the church, they had better be careful about how they go after others who do it on issues they don't support.