Current Events

[thecountrydoc]

Sydney brothels report business up for WYD


The Adult Business Association in Sydney reports its members were surprised by the increase in business during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Australia.

"The brothel owners are having to put on extra girls to meet the demand," Chris Seage, a spokesman for the group, told The Sun-Herald.

He said many brothels reported a 20 percent increase in traffic during World Youth Day, which brought thousands of visitors to the city. Much of the business came from the journalists and TV crews in Sydney, not from the young Roman Catholics who were the target audience for four-day World Youth Day celebration, the report said.

Sydney officials billed World Youth Day as the biggest event the city has seen since the 2000 Summer Olympics. Seage said that was true for the sex trade as well.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.

This news arrived on: 07/21/2008
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YBIC,
Doc

 

[thecountrydoc]

IRS gets complaints about pulpit politics


An organization that promotes separation of church and state has filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service about political sermons in U.S. pulpits.

Pastors across the United States preached politics from the pulpit Sunday, saying they hope to provoke a federal tax investigation that could lead to a lawsuit. Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed complaints Monday with the IRS about six churches whose pastors took part in the defiance of federal tax law.

The pastors said they offered their endorsements during "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" to break the IRS rules, hoping to provoke a lawsuit that could prompt federal courts to throw out a half-century ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The IRS bars church leaders from using their pulpits to espouse political views, which could jeopardize their tax-exempt status.

"These pastors flagrantly violated the law and now must deal with the consequences," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The effort -- organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, a socially conservative legal group based in Scottsdale, Ariz. -- has drawn IRS attention, the Post said. The agency pledged to "monitor the situation and take action as appropriate."

Other clerics condemned the pastors' actions, saying pulpit politicking undercut the independence churches have to speak out about moral and ethical issues, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Pastors have a responsibility to the whole of their flock to provide spiritual support and guidance," not partisan political advice, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, told the Times.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.

This news arrived on: 09/30/2008
____________________________________________________________

Your brother in Christ,
Doc

 

[Jon0388g]

IRS gets complaints about pulpit politics


An organization that promotes separation of church and state has filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service about political sermons in U.S. pulpits.

Pastors across the United States preached politics from the pulpit Sunday, saying they hope to provoke a federal tax investigation that could lead to a lawsuit. Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed complaints Monday with the IRS about six churches whose pastors took part in the defiance of federal tax law.

The pastors said they offered their endorsements during "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" to break the IRS rules, hoping to provoke a lawsuit that could prompt federal courts to throw out a half-century ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The IRS bars church leaders from using their pulpits to espouse political views, which could jeopardize their tax-exempt status.

"These pastors flagrantly violated the law and now must deal with the consequences," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The effort -- organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, a socially conservative legal group based in Scottsdale, Ariz. -- has drawn IRS attention, the Post said. The agency pledged to "monitor the situation and take action as appropriate."

Other clerics condemned the pastors' actions, saying pulpit politicking undercut the independence churches have to speak out about moral and ethical issues, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Pastors have a responsibility to the whole of their flock to provide spiritual support and guidance," not partisan political advice, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, told the Times.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.

This news arrived on: 09/30/2008
____________________________________________________________

Your brother in Christ,
Doc

Very interesting....


Where have you been Doc? Hope you are well



Jon