CANADA: Calgary Church Loses Charity Status
Opposition to Abortion, Homosexuality Cited as Reasons
By Patrick B. Craine
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10012102.html
CALGARY, Alberta, January 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has revoked the charitable status of Kings Glory Fellowship (KGF), a Christian church in Calgary. CRA cites a number of issues with KGF's application, but the decision is based, in part, on the ground that certain KGF Board members have spoken out strongly against abortion, and other moral issues.
"The members of the Board of Directors espouse strong negative views about sensitive and controversial issues, which may also be viewed as political, such as abortion, homosexuality, divorce, etc.," wrote CRA agent Dian Prodanov in an October 29th letter.
These "political" views make the church ineligible because, according to the agent, a registered charity "may only engage in non-partisan political activities as long as it devotes substantially all (usually 90% or more) of its resources to charitable activities."
KGF's pastor, Artur Pawlowski, is also the founder and pastor of Street Church Ministries, which has made headlines because of its battle with the city of Calgary to uphold its right to preach to and serve the city's poor.
In December, a provincial court judge sided with Pawlowski and SCM, striking down several city infractions against them. Further, the judge found that "the City's attempts ... to limit the scope of the efforts by the accused to minister to his congregants, fall precariously close to being excessive and, to any reasonable observer, an abuse of power."
Prodanov cited numerous problems with KGF's application, such as a lack of detail about various expenditures, but Pawlowski called these other reasons "smoke screens."
"The main point is that they don't like my opinions about different controversial issues, and I speak about them openly on radio, in paper, and on TV," he said. "So that's what happens when you express your views as a pastor."
"If they take the charity status away from a church, they are hoping that they are going to starve us to death in Canada, and therefore we will not be able to influence anyone," he continued. "That's basically what happens. That's what they want to accomplish. They want to muzzle us up."
Contact Information:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
E-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca
Hon. Keith Ashfield
Minister of National Revenue
7th Floor 555 MacKenzie Avenue
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
Phone: (613) 992-1067
Fax: (613) 996-9955
E-mail: Ashfield.K@parl.gc.ca
| Poster | Thread |
|---|---|
| railbirdbc | Posted: 2010/1/23 11:51 Updated: 2010/1/23 11:51 |
Home away from home   Joined: 2007/6/6 From: Posts: 875 |
 Re: CANADA: Calgary Church Loses Charity StatusI remember warning readers on this site several years ago about the soon arrival of the suspension of human and civil rights in Canada. Well, here it is boys and girls. You Americans, who think you're far removed from any similar thing because of your Constitution need to think again. The entire Western world is coming unglued. When the rights of special interest groups trump the rights of the majority, then chaos will ensue. And here you see the fruits.
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| anilwang | Posted: 2010/1/23 14:29 Updated: 2010/1/23 14:29 |
Just can't stay away  Joined: 2009/10/11 From: Posts: 125 |
Re: CANADA: Calgary Church Loses Charity Status Meanwhile, groups the support and promote the environment are still charities even though they are strongly political. Politicians just can't stop talking about it, despite the strong electoral rejection of a leader who made Al Gore look like a moderate on the environment.
Everything that impacts public life is political. Even charitable work like Mother Teresa was involved in is political. Helping the untouchables implies they have some value, which in terms implies caste laws need to be removed. Unlike the US, Abortion is mostly non-issue in the political sphere. I've yet to here a single political leader at any level of government even casually mention that a problem even exists. Don't ask. Don't tell. Harmony is achieved. Given this contrast between the environment and abortion, saying that abortion is political is really disingenuous. |
| SixDays | Posted: 2010/1/23 16:10 Updated: 2010/1/23 16:10 |
Home away from home Joined: 2006/2/23 From: Posts: 334 |
Re: CANADA: Calgary Church Loses Charity Status Hopefully that will work both ways.
If being against them is too political, then being for them is as well. SD |
| Cennydd | Posted: 2010/1/24 5:09 Updated: 2010/1/24 5:12 |
Home away from home  Joined: 2005/10/30 From: Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin Posts: 7348 |
Re: CANADA: Calgary Church Loses Charity Status I seem to recall a case in southern California in which an Episcopal rector very nearly got his parish into trouble with the Internal Revenue Service because he somehow mixed politics with religion while speaking from the pulpit, and they were threatened with the loss of their 501c(3) tax-free status.
This has been a no-no in this country ever since the ratification of our Constitution. Cennydd |
| jfmckenna | Posted: 2010/1/24 19:36 Updated: 2010/1/24 19:36 |
Home away from home Joined: 2006/2/4 From: Posts: 717 |
Re: CANADA: Calgary Church Loses Charity Status The apostles of false tolerance, after they gain in power, become the apostles of real tyranny.
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| kepha | Posted: 2010/1/30 0:33 Updated: 2010/1/30 0:33 |
Home away from home Joined: 2006/11/16 From: Posts: 203 |
Re: CANADA: Calgary Church Loses Charity Status Cennydd, what have you been smoking? Mixing politics and religion has been as American as Apple Pie since the Mayflower Compact, since John Witherspoon represented New Jersey at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and down through the Civil Rights movement!
It's a no-no only if it irks the Left. Pure and Simple. |
