MASSACHUSETTS
The Jewish Advocate
BY TED SIEFER - Tuesday August 23 2005
BOSTON – Synagogue leaders are expressing alarm over a bill debated at a State House hearing last week that would require churches and synagogues to make the same public financial disclosures required of nonprofit charities.
Jewish groups have yet to take an official position on the bill, although the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts shares many of the concerns raised at the Aug. 10 hearing by leaders of Protestant churches. They argued that the bill stems from specific disputes with the Catholic Archdiocese and would impose an unfair administrative burden on smaller, independent religious denominations and would encroach on freedom of religion.