In a surprising break with tradition, the United States Supreme Court has agreed to rule on the constitutionality of exempting all church property from taxation.
The case is unusual. New York City attorney Frederick Walz contends that Article 16 of the New York State constitution, which exempts churches from real estate taxes, is increasing his own property taxes, thus compelling him to support churches. This, Walz maintains, violates the right of religious freedom which the United States Constitution guarantees him.
Walz’s property consists of a 22-by-29-foot plot, having no buildings and no street access, on Staten Island. This he purchased in June of 1967, just before beginning his litigation against church property-tax exemption. It is assessed at $100 and is taxed $5.24 yearly.
Walz himself is something of an enigma. Shunning all contact with the public, he resides in an obscure section of the Bronx. He did not appear in the three preceding trials in New York State courts (all of which were decided against him), preferring to submit his arguments in writing. He did not reveal whether he will appear personally before the Supreme Court, which requires oral arguments.
Walz said he was a “Christian and not a member of any religious organization … rejecting them as hostile.” His secretary informed CHRISTIANITY TODAY that “Mr. Walz cannot be reached by phone” but would accept a letter. But he did not immediately reply to a letter asking why he is interested in the issue and other related questions.
Reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case has generally been bewilderment. William R. Consedine, the general counsel for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, stated, “We are very surprised that this matter has come up since the Supreme Court has rejected similar cases in an unbroken line since 1877, including two cases in the 1960’s.” Franklin Salisbury, house counsel for Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told CHRISTIANITY TODAY that he considered it “an idiot case to accept.” He explained, “There is great curiosity why with such a meager record at the lower courts and a lack of thorough briefs the Supreme Court would take this case. It may be that it is trying to earn some good will for a change, or maybe some bad will. I don’t know. Nevertheless, we will submit a thorough brief of forty or fifty pages.”
Salisbury said the brief will oppose Walz. Americans United seeks to tax only secular activities of churches, while Walz would tax all areas.
What will be the result of Walz vs. the Tax Commission of the City of New York? Dr. C. Emanuel Carlson, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, said, “This case should move the process along” and “clear the air a little.” His organization will take some action in the fall, he said; this could take the form of a resolution, a staff report, or the filing of new briefs. Carlson expects the Supreme Court will show balanced judgment and sensitivity to tensions of values, for there are tensions of values here.… I don’t expect them to do anything radical.
Salisbury was more specific. “I think that the Supreme Court will rule that churches are not to be taxed on the church proper or their schools. The Supreme Court will hold taxable the secular activities of churches.”
DEATHS
PAUL F. GEREN, 55, noted Southern Baptist churchman and former Peace Corps official who resigned recently as president of Stetson University; in an automobile accident near London, Kentucky.
DONALD L. BARTLEY, 37, Southern Presbyterian Army chaplain; near Danang, Viet Nam.
Panorama
Backers of James Forman succeeded in obtaining an anti-injunction vote from staff members of the National Council of Churches. Only about 200 of the nearly 700 NCC employees participated in the vote, which sought to cancel court injunction proceedings against Forman. The black militant leader spent much of the month of June disrupting business at New York’s Interchurch Center, where NCC headquarters and many denominational offices are housed.
A group of theologically conservative Episcopal churchmen demanded last month the resignation of Presiding Bishop John E. Hines. Directors of the Foundation for Christian Theology, based in Victoria, Texas, adopted a resolution saying that the denomination has become “torn with strife and disagreement because of policies and activities pursued under Hines’s direction.
Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, preached at the eighth White House service on June 29. A Missouri Synod Lutheran choir sang.
The complete New English Bible will go on sale next March. It is being published jointly by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. The NEB New Testament, which first appeared in 1961, has sold seven million copies.
The Rev. J. Glyn Owen of Berry Street Presbyterian Church in Belfast, Ireland, will succeed Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones as minister of Westminster Chapel in London.
President Nixon and his family are listed as members in the latest directory published by the East Whittier Friends Church, Whittier, California. T. Eugene Coffin has accepted a call to serve as pastor of the church beginning in September.
The American Scientific Affiliation will sponsor a workshop for high-school science teachers in conjunction with its annual convention next month. The meeting will be held on the campus of Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts.
Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras has proposed that all Christians unite in celebrating Easter Sunday on the same day—the second Sunday of April each year.
Transit-company officials in the District of Columbia have offered dispensers on their 700 buses to the local Bible society for distribution of Scripture portions.
The Joint Council of the American Lutheran Church authorized steps toward “closer relationship and possibly consolidation” of its seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a Lutheran Church in America seminary on the same campus. A joint parish education program with LCA was also approved.
The Rev. Stephen Cree, 38, was ousted from the ministry by the United Methodist Iowa Conference after he co-authored a book espousing the new morality.
Nine Democratic congressmen from Florida introduced a bill to authorize federal funds for “the objective teaching of religion” in public schools.
Newspapers in Italy reported last month that the Vatican was selling out its holdings in a firm that built the prestigious Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D. C. A number of top government officials live in the plush development.
The Methodist Publishing House is joining Project Equality as a “supplier.” As such it commits itself to fair-employment practices but will not be a funding sponsor of the anti-discrimination agency. Project Equality seeks to mobilize church buying power by encouraging business only with firms that have fair-employment practices in respect to minority groups.
The magazine motive is scheduled to resume publication under new editorial leadership. The Methodist student publication had been suspended because of its use of obscene language. Robert E. Maurer, a lay member of the United Church of Christ and a graduate of New York’s Union Theological Seminary, will be the new editor. A Methodist minister, the Rev. James H. Stentzel, will serve as managing editor.
San Quentin Prison’s Congregationalist chaplain George Tolson refused to swear before God in court recently that he would tell the truth. Reason: such an oath “lends itself to superstitious notions … and makes for dishonesty.” The problem, he said, is that the word “God” has different meanings for different people. Tolson did agree to “affirm” his honesty.
