San Diego Catholic Diocese denounces
parish that called voting Democrat 'mortal sin'
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[November 05, 2016]
(Reuters) - The Roman Catholic
Diocese of San Diego denounced one of its parishes on Friday after its
worshippers were told that voting for Democrats is a "mortal sin" that
could lead to an eternity in hell.
The Diocese said the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in the
neighborhood of Old Town made the statement in an insert to a weekly
leaflet given to churchgoers on Oct. 16, calling abortion, same-sex
marriage, euthanasia and other political issues "non-negotiables."
"It is a mortal sin to vote Democrat," the insert read, with the words
underlined and bolded. "If your bishop, priest, deacon or other
parishioners tell you to do so, you must walk away from them. Your
immortal soul and your salvation are at stake."
On Tuesday, voters will pick the next president after an often bitter
contest that polls suggest has tightened considerably in the last week.
While several states are too close to call, polls have shown Democrat
Hillary Clinton leading over Republican Donald Trump for some time in
California where the parish is located.
Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy said in a
statement that the parish, which will also serve as a polling place,
violated its religious duties with the political comments.
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"It is contrary to Catholic teaching to state that voting for a Democrat
or Republican automatically condemns the voter to hell," the statement
said. "The Catholic Church does not endorse specific candidates, use
parish media or bulletins to favor candidates or parties or engage in
partisan political activity of any kind."
The parish's pastor, Richard Perozich, did not respond to calls and an
email on Friday.
The Diocese also took issue with a column in the parish's Oct. 30
bulletin that railed against abortion and constraints on tax-exempt
organizations from certain political activity, and blames elected
officials for allowing U.S. society to be "enslaved" to sin.
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![](../images/110516pics/news_w39.jpg)
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton gets off her
campaign plane in Moon, Pennsylvania, U.S. November 4, 2016.
REUTERS/Brian Snyder
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"Satan has deceived many Christians to convert to worldly values
from Christian ones," the bulletin reads. "The devil does this
through the tactics outlined by Saul Alinsky with the outcome as
Hillary Clinton has stated, 'And deep-seated cultural codes,
religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed,' to draw
us away from God's teachings."
Alinsky was a pioneer in community organizing in Chicago known for
confrontational, though nonviolent, tactics to achieve social
change.
Clinton has been a lifelong Methodist, attending first as child with
her parents and later attending a Methodist church as first lady.
Trump on the other hand has been backed by religious conservatives
and evangelicals.
Richard Schmalbeck, a professor at Duke University School of Law
with expertise in non-profits, said the statements appear to violate
requirements for tax-exempt organizations around political activity.
"Anything that clearly disparages a candidate is intervention in
opposition to a candidate, and I think saying the devil operates
through a person would count as disparagement," he said.
Schmalbeck said it seems unlikely, however, that the U.S. Internal
Revenue Service would aggressively pursue revoking the church's
tax-exempt status given its recent history of not going after
churches that have made similar comments.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)
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