CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- As secularists look to abolish a religious tax exemption, a pastor whose life is dedicated to serving those in need fights for what he calls a critical \u2013 and constitutional \u2013 support for his ministry.<\/p>\n\u201cMy church and the community are my lifeblood,\u201d Bishop Ed Peecher of Chicago Embassy Church has stated. \u201cThe hungry, the lost, the lonely \u2013 they are my family. I spend my days serving them, praying, talking and offering hope and an alternative to violence. This is my job, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peecher founded a church in one of the most notorious parts of Chicago for crime. He works with gang members to stop violence and establish peace in the neighborhoods through the Chicago Peace Campaign, but also serves the local homeless population and is a mentor for young residents in the Journeymen program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis work is possible because the church supports Bishop Peecher through a small housing allowance, permitting him to focus on and live minutes from his congregation and surrounding communities in need,\u201d explained the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.<\/p>\n
His allowance is tax-exempt through what is referred to as the \u201cParsonage Allowance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The law actually dates back 100 years, said the Becket Fund, which is representing Bishop Peecher. Basically, if an employee needs to live close to work and this poses an added burden for them, they can receive a tax-exempt housing allowance.<\/p>\n
Many types of employees make use of this exemption for secular purposes, Smith explained, like military employees or persons who have to move to other countries for their work. \u201cMinisters who live in the communities they serve shouldn\u2019t be left out in the cold,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
While ministers receive a tax-exempt housing allowance for living close to their parish, these instances make up only a small percentage of all housing allowances in the tax code, Smith pointed out.<\/p>\n
But the secularist Freedom from Religion Foundation is suing the Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew and the head of the IRS John Koskinen over this exemption, claiming it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.<\/p>\n
They also challenged the allowance in court in 2011, winning at the district court level but ultimately losing at the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in a case where Becket Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief on the side of the churches.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only is this explicitly discriminatory against religious groups when so many secular businesses and organizations receive similar tax treatment, but it hurts churches and the communities they serve,\u201d Becket Fund stated of the newest lawsuit.<\/p>\n
So Bishop Peecher and other clients like Holy Cross Anglican Church in Wisconsin and the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are asking to join the government\u2019s side of the lawsuit as \u201cintervener defenders.\u201d<\/p>\n
They want the court not only to hear the government\u2019s case, but the cases of ministers who directly benefit from the exemption.<\/p>\n
What is their case? The ministers need the tax-exemption to avoid taking on a second job that would cut into their ministry, and the churches can\u2019t afford to spend more on their pastors without spending less on religious activities.<\/p>\n
For instance, regarding Peecher\u2019s situation, he \u201cuses his home to fulfill his pastoral duties,\u201d Becket Fund stated in its request to intervene in the case. \u201cHe invites members of the Church into his home for individual spiritual counseling, prayer meetings, and social events. Bishop Ed\u2019s pastoral team meets in his home, and he prepares his sermons in his home office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus, \u201cthe parsonage allowance also allows him to devote himself full-time to the ministry,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout the parsonage allowance, Bishop Ed would likely have to take a part-time job to cover the increased tax burden. Alternatively, if the Church were to increase his pay to compensate for the tax, the Church would need to cut back its vital community ministries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regarding the Orthodox clergy, the Becket Fund stated that \u201ca priest must be present to lead multiple divine services every week, and is called to counsel his flock and visit the sick regardless of the day of the week or the time of day that the need may arise.\u201d<\/p>\n
To do this, they \u201care required by Church regulations to live within the geographic boundaries of that parish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe majority of parishes in the Diocese have budgets of less than $100,000, and most priests are bivocational \u2013 meaning they work secular jobs to support their families,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n
\u201cStriking down the parsonage allowance would place a severe financial strain on the parishes\u2019 ability to provide for their clergy and would likely force some priests to cut back on their priestly work to take additional secular work.\u201d<\/p>\n
This could have a devastating spiritual impact upon a parish, the memorandum explained:<\/p>\n
\u201cPriests also have the responsibility to ensure that none of their parishioners \u2018dies without a final confession and the Holy Mysteries of Christ.\u2019 Secular employment makes it more difficult for a priest to \u2018drop whatever [he] is doing to respond to a parishioner who is ill and at risk of dying.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cForcing priests to take on additional secular work would take away even more from the time that they can spend performing their pastoral duties, and magnify the risk of the \u2018great spiritual tragedy\u2019 that would occur if the priest \u2018did not make it in time and one of [his] parishioners died without a final confession.\u2019 Thus, for the Intervenors, losing the parsonage allowance would restrict, minute for minute, dollar for dollar, the modest resources that they have to carry out their religious missions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n
![](\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\")
<\/a>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/4QysEFPHOSs\")
<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chicago, Ill., Dec 15, 2016 \/ 04:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- As secularists look to abolish a religious tax exemption, a pastor whose life is dedicated to serving those in need fights for what he calls a critical – and constitutional – support …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\n
Threats to tax exemption could ruin Chicago pastor's ministry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chicago, Ill., Dec 15, 2016 \/ 04:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- As secularists look to abolish a religious tax exemption, a pastor whose life is dedicated to serving those in need fights for what he calls a critical – and constitutional – support ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Threats to tax exemption could ruin Chicago pastor's ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chicago, Ill., Dec 15, 2016 \/ 04:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- As secularists look to abolish a religious tax exemption, a pastor whose life is dedicated to serving those in need fights for what he calls a critical – and constitutional – support ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-15T23:08:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Bishop_Ed_Peecher_of_the_Chicago_Embassy_Church_Credit_Becket_Fund_CNA.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/\",\"name\":\"Threats to tax exemption could ruin Chicago pastor's ministry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-15T23:08:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-15T23:08:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Chicago, Ill., Dec 15, 2016 \/ 04:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- As secularists look to abolish a religious tax exemption, a pastor whose life is dedicated to serving those in need fights for what he calls a critical – and constitutional – support ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Threats to tax exemption could ruin Chicago pastor’s ministry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Threats to tax exemption could ruin Chicago pastor's ministry","description":"Chicago, Ill., Dec 15, 2016 \/ 04:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- As secularists look to abolish a religious tax exemption, a pastor whose life is dedicated to serving those in need fights for what he calls a critical – and constitutional – support ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Threats to tax exemption could ruin Chicago pastor's ministry","og_description":"Chicago, Ill., Dec 15, 2016 \/ 04:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- As secularists look to abolish a religious tax exemption, a pastor whose life is dedicated to serving those in need fights for what he calls a critical – and constitutional – support ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2016-12-15T23:08:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Bishop_Ed_Peecher_of_the_Chicago_Embassy_Church_Credit_Becket_Fund_CNA.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/","name":"Threats to tax exemption could ruin Chicago pastor's ministry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-12-15T23:08:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-15T23:08:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Chicago, Ill., Dec 15, 2016 \/ 04:08 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- As secularists look to abolish a religious tax exemption, a pastor whose life is dedicated to serving those in need fights for what he calls a critical – and constitutional – support ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/threats-to-tax-exemption-could-ruin-chicago-pastors-ministry\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Threats to tax exemption could ruin Chicago pastor’s ministry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17401\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Bishop_Ed_Peecher_of_the_Chicago_Embassy_Church_Credit_Becket_Fund_CNA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n