Basic HTML Version
CHURCH RIGHTS GONE
"The Worldwide Church of God has no rights--
therefore, no rights were violated!"
This statement punctuated in court the attempt by
the California Attorney General's office to seize control
of the Worldwide Church of God. Historically, this
incident marks the most blatant attack on individual and
collective religious constitutional rights since the
instititution of the Bill of Rights.
The Deputy State Attorney General three separate
times stated in court that the Church has no rights, that
the members have no rights, and that the Church has no
legal recourse. That the Worldwide Church of God and
all churches belong to the State of California.
In effect, the State claims the tithes and offerings
sent to the Church from all over the world by some 75,000
members and 170,000 co-workers and donors, to be used
in spreading the Gospel of the soon-coming Kingdom of
God, belong to the State of California.
This strikes at the very heart of the rights
guaranteed by the Constitution of this great country.
STATE INVASION
On that fateful day, without notice (as required
by law), government attorneys, investigators and law
enforcement officers stormed Church headquarters,
disregarding the character of the institution, the religious
and sacred nature of its responsibilities both in the
United States and internationally, and its many other
cultural and charitable activities.
Exploding into the executive offices in an emotionally
violent takeover of Church property, the court-appointed
receiver, stated that Herbert W. Armstrong, the temporal
head of the Worldwide Church of God, was "fired and out!"
The State insisted that Mr. Armstrong, the Church's
spiritual leader for more than forty years, was no longer
responsible for the Church and demanded access to and
control of all aspects of the organization's financial
assets, bank records, physical facilities, computer files
and addresses of the Church's confidential 75,000 person
membership.
This unprecedented invasion was taken outside the
bounds of the law; yet, employees of the Church were
threatened with jail if they did not submit to the demands.
ILLEGAL HEARING
The basis for this takeover by the State is a suit