That is the way it was for the Rev. James Reeb.
On the front page of today’s newspaper is the story of a common American family of uncommon moral standing. Long before Anne and Karen Reeb settled on the Coastside, their father, James, died for our nation’s sins. He was killed in Selma, Ala., after a march called to shed light on the racial inequalities that prevented black Americans from achieving full citizenship.
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Over the last election cycle, a similar calling guided some religious people to speak out in favor of Proposition 8, the successful ballot measure that banned gay marriage in California. And last week a minor tumult erupted on the Review’s online forum because Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic Church in Half Moon Bay reportedly allowed “Yes on 8” signs on church grounds. Opponents of the proposition claimed the church violated rules governing its tax-exempt status by taking a stand on the measure.
As a practical matter, it appears there is an important distinction in the tax code governing church exemptions. They may support legislation like Prop. 8 and retain their tax-exempt status. They may not support candidates, political parties or political action committees, which could simply become tools of the church.
But you have to wonder whether the same Prop. 8 opponents who complain about the Half Moon Bay church’s political activity would have also railed against Martin Luther King Jr. for his support of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That’s not to say the two campaigns were analogous; they were not. King fought for equality, the Catholic Church, in this instance, favored discrimination. But you can’t very well applaud the outspoken King and Reeb on the one hand and slap leaders at Our Lady of the Pillar with the other.
— Clay Lambert
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