text: Regardless of the amount of federal subsidy, the real sponsors of political speech by clergy and non-profits are the donors who provide the money. The ban saves the clergy from themselves. Lifting the ban may increase the partisanship of charities, but it may also give donors and church members a clearer view of what their employees (and clergy need to start considering themselves as such) really believe and what they are doing with donor funds. For example, not all Catholics support the pro-life movement, but tolerate it because it the clergy are not blatently Republican. If the pro-life priests let their GOP freak flag fly, Democratic Catholics, including priests and bishops, could also share their POV, resulting in healthier debate than what we have now. Currently, Catholic pro-lifers assume obedience. More honest disclosure would make it more obvious that the priests are speaking for themselves, not the Church that votes. Let’s do it.