My understanding is that there is a large Catholic majority in the Mass.
legislature; if so, then are you suggesing that thte legislture is
anti-Catholic?
Vance R. Koven wrote:
I'm a bit surprised that nobody here has brought up the recent
initiatives of the Massachusetts legislature to require churches
(guess which one they mostly have in mind) to start disclosing
financial information, including assets held. Churches have been
exempted from making the financial disclosures that "other charities"
(quoted because this is an issue in contention) have to disclose to
the Attorney General's Division of Public Charities. The RC church, of
course, but also the Massachusetts Council of (mostly Protestant)
Churches has opposed this requirement on First Amendment grounds. A
lot of the public debate has revolved around whether churches are
really charities like secular ones, or have their own special niche
that precludes the state from even requiring disclosure of financial
information. The state legislators sponsoring the bill (the AG has
been trying to stay neutral) contend that disclosure is in the
interests of potential and actual donors (primarily parishioners) in
making sure their funds are not misused; and in many cases this
information is thought to aid claimants against the principally
Catholic churches and clergy involved in sex scandals and follow-on
parish closings to pay the damages resulting from the scandal.
Is the Free Ex claim of the churches sound? Do other states require
this type of disclosure?
--
Paul Finkelman
Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law
University of Tulsa College of Law
3120 East 4th Place
Tulsa, OK 74104-3189
918-631-3706 (office)
918-631-2194 (fax)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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