The Associated Press reports that last Wednesday the Massachusetts State Senate approved a bill requiring churches and other religious organizations to disclose their finances in filings with the state just as other nonprofit groups are now required to do. (See prior posting.) Religious groups, particularly the Catholic Church, oppose the measure as too costly and as violating the principle of separation of church and state. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston claims it will cost the Church $3 million to comply with the auditing and filing requirements. The bill still needs the approval of the state's House of Representatives.
UPDATE: The Nov. 16 Boston Globe reported that the bill has run into opposition in the House after smaller religious groups said they feared becoming "collateral damage" in the Catholic church's clergy sexual abuse scandal. The vote on the bill , originally scheduled for Wednesday (the last scheduled day of formal debate for the year) was put off.
