The Do’s and Don’ts of Catholic Church involvement in elections
By Valerie Schmalz
Every year the question arises – what exactly can the Catholic Church do when it comes to elections, candidates and issues?
Under IRS rules, the Catholic Church may take a position on legislation, such as ballot propositions.
The Catholic Church may not support or oppose individual candidates or parties.
Practically speaking, what does that mean for us in the Archdiocese of San Francisco?
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is well within his rights, in terms of law and Church rules, to urge a No vote on San Francisco’s Proposition O that targets life-affirming state-licensed health clinics.
At the same time, U.S. dioceses, parishes, or state Catholic conferences should NEVER endorse, promote or oppose an individual candidate for office. Violations of this rule may result in revocation of a religious organization’s tax-exempt status and could subject it to tax penalties. This Internal Revenue Service law dates to 1954, and then-Texas Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Political Activities and Lobbying Guidelines for Catholic Institutions.” The USCCB document is directed to Catholic dioceses and to state Catholic conferences, which are tax exempt as religious organizations.
The USCCB document cites section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, “which prohibits participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate, as a condition of maintaining federal income tax exemption.”
The USCCB and the California Catholic Conference note that the prohibition on endorsing candidates for election is also prudent as it is rare that a candidate will embrace the totality of Catholic social teaching in his or her stances. But even if he or she did, Catholic parishes, dioceses or state conferences are barred from endorsing or promoting that candidate.
For more information about the Do’s and Don’ts of the Catholic Church in terms of elections, lobbying and all political activities here are two definitive resources:
USCCB Political Activities Guidelines: https://www.usccb.org/offices/general-counsel/political-activity-guidelines
California Catholic Conference Political Activities Guidelines:
_Valerie Schmalz is the director of the Office of Human Life & Dignity.