Paterson, N.J., Oct 23, 2008 / 16:16 pm
A New Jersey bishop’s newspaper column which criticized Sen. Barack Obama’s support for pro-abortion legislation has prompted the activist group Americans United for Separation of Church and State to request an Internal Revenue Service investigation. The group alleges that Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli violated regulations forbidding tax-exempt organizations from tying political issues to the candidates who support them.
In Bishop Serratelli’s October 23rd column, titled “A Politician’s Promise: No Right to Life! No Freedom!”, he examined the status of abortion law in America today, noting that most Americans now favor “some kind of a ban on abortion” and that the number of abortions is in decline.
“There is truly a deep sensitivity to life in the soul of America,” he continued, claiming the proposed Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would “mortally wound this sensitivity.”
According to the bishop, the proposed federal FOCA bill would remove the rights of medical personnel and hospitals which have moral objections to performing abortions.