WASHINGTON - Nearly two-dozen conservative Christian leaders have signed a letter to the Senate Finance Committee questioning an investigation into six large ministries that preach a gospel of prosperity.

The letter argues that the 6-month-old inquiry sets a dangerous precedent. It also suggests that the ministries were targeted for sharing "the same branch of evangelicalism" and promoting "socially conservative public policy positions such as support for the traditional definition of marriage."

Although the ministries under scrutiny are conservative theologically, they are not at the forefront of the culture wars issues championed by the leaders who are now rallying to their side.

The most prominent figures who signed the letter are Moral Majority co-founder Paul Weyrich, American Family Association chairman Don Wildmon and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.

"The ministries have been asked to produce financial records and internal documents in what appears to be an exercise in disproving their alleged guilt," the letter states.

The group repeats an argument by some of the targeted ministries - that the investigation falls short of the high bar the Internal Revenue Service has for justifying a church investigation.

Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, sent letters to the six ministries in November seeking answers about spending on private planes, oceanside mansions and board oversight. The committee's Democratic chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, joined Grassley in asking for answers.

The six ministries in question - led respectively by Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer and Paula and Randy White - have denied wrongdoing. Some have pledged full cooperation and others have either refused or provided limited information.

Jill Kozeny, a spokeswoman for Grassley, said the investigation is not concerned with church doctrine but with the adequacy of tax-exempt laws that have not been substantially changed since 1968.

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http://www.senate.gov/finance/

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Washington archbishop: Communion call up to local bishops

WASHINGTON (AP) - Washington Roman Catholic Archbishop Donald Wuerl, responding to questions about the pro-abortion rights Catholic politicians who accepted Holy Communion during Pope Benedict XVI's American visit, said any decision about denying the sacrament to those politicians should be made in their home dioceses.

Wuerl wrote in his archdiocesan newspaper column that he does not believe the Washington Archdiocese should intervene when such a public figure is taking Communion in the nation's capital. He suggested that doing so would supersede the authority of those politicians' bishops in their home districts.

"A decision regarding the refusal of Holy Communion to an individual is one that should be made only after clear efforts to persuade and convince the person that their actions are wrong and bear moral consequences," Wuerl wrote. "Presumably this is done in the home diocese where the bishops and priests, the pastors of souls, engage the members of their flock in this type of discussion."

Wuerl's comments came after New York Cardinal Edward Egan issued a statement saying former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, another abortion rights supporter, had broken "an understanding" the two shared by accepting Communion at a papal Mass in New York. The former Republican presidential hopeful responded that he was willing to meet with Egan, but his faith "is a deeply personal matter and should remain confidential."

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