Boston, USA - Lawmakers in Massachusetts, a state at the heart of the pedophile priests scandal, overwhelmingly rejected a bill on Wednesday that would have forced the Roman Catholic Church to open its financial books.
State House of Representatives lawmakers voted 147-3 against the bill, which was opposed by the Archdiocese of Boston and other religious leaders, who said it contravened the separation of church and state enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
The Boston Archdiocese, faced with an $86 million bill to settle cases involving nearly 1,000 sex-abuse victims, has shut more than 60 churches to raise money since 2002, triggering protests by parishioners and raising questions over how the church is using donations.
Churches, mosques, synagogues and other religious entities would have been forced by the bill to disclose their revenues, assets, fundraising expenses and other routine financial information as a condition of their tax-exempt status.
"The Constitution says we, the government, cannot be entangled with religious institutions," state Rep. Byron Rushing said in a debate before the vote. "The decision was made that the best way for us not to be entangled with them is to not involve them with our tax policy."
State Sen. Marian Walsh, who drafted the bill, said the public wants greater transparency in the church. "My view is a minority view, especially in the House," she said. "But I do think the public is behind us."
Some had seen the legislation as a test of how much influence the nation's fourth-largest archdiocese still wields in a region known historically for deep political roots in the Roman Catholic Church.
But because other religious organizations opposed it, the bill's defeat was not seen as a clear victory for the Boston Archdiocese, which is struggling with a badly damaged image.
"So many different kinds of religious groups found this bill a bit troubling, so it may or not be that the Roman Catholic Church still has clout," said Nancy Ammerman, professor of sociology and religion at Boston University.
The Massachusetts Council of Churches, representing 1,700 non-Catholic congregations, said the U.S. Constitution protects church freedoms and that regularly compiling and releasing financial statements would put a strain on church volunteers.
The bill passed the state Senate by a 33-4 margin on November 9 but looked set for certain defeat in the House after Republican Gov. Mitt Romney signaled he would probably oppose it.