The leadership of All Saints’ Church, Pasadena, Calif., publicly called for answers from the Internal Revenue Service during a press conference Sept. 23.

Earlier this month All Saints’ received a letter announcing that the investigation was being closed without challenge to its tax-exempt status. The letter also concluded that the sermon during the 2004 presidential election that triggered the initial investigation violated campaign laws.

In response to the Sept. 10 letter closing the two-year-old IRS examination, All Saints’ leaders said they have referred the numerous procedural and legal errors of the exam to the commissioner of the IRS and demanded correction and an apology.

The parish claims that certain IRS officials may have breached the Church’s confidentiality rights in inappropriate conversations with high-level Department of Justice personnel, which heightens the church’s concern that the exam may have been influenced by partisan political considerations. Because of the serious implications of these defects, the church has also referred its concerns to the treasury inspector general for tax administration. All Saints’ expects an explanation of which elements of the single guest sermon the IRS contends to be political campaign intervention.

“All Saints’ Church has a moral duty to pursue this matter, wherever it may take us,” said the Rev. Edward Bacon, rector of All Saints’. “This ruling by the IRS does nothing to clarify the boundaries, and therefore perpetuates the intimidation inherent in the threat of IRS investigations based on inferences rather than fact. This leaves me wondering whether we will be investigated again the next time I am called to preach against war, poverty, bigotry or any other of our core moral values as they relate to current social issues and policies.”

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