A Catholic priest supported the candidates from the pulpit, which is a no-no

A week before the national elections, worshipers of the Great Catholic Church of St. Gertrude in Bell Gardens were listening to church announcements when Father Nabor Rios introduced a political candidate.

“I'm not saying I voted for him,” he told people, pausing. “Well, I say I voted for her, but Isabel will run…Look at the branches [stand up my daughter].”

Those who attended the Sunday Mass of Oct. 27 was Isabel Guillen, one of the candidates for Bell Gardens City Council. As he stood up, Rios continued to address the worshippers.

“Isabel is going to run for City Council,” he said, prompting applause.

On October 29, Rios logged into his Facebook account, which is linked to the church websiteto support Guillen and his spouse, Jennifer Rodriguez.

A week later, voters elected Guillen to the Bell Gardens City Council but not Rodriguez.

It's unclear how much influence Rios had with voters, but the endorsement appeared to violate a 1954 federal law that prohibits religious and nonprofit organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates, which President Trump may again try to repeal during a Republican-controlled Congress.

The Johnson Amendment – named after sponsor Lyndon B. Johnson, then a Democratic congressman from Texas – states that all non-profit organizations are “absolutely prohibited from participating directly or indirectly in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office ,” according to the statement Internal Revenue Service.

Rebecca Markert, vice president and director of legal affairs at Americans United for Separation of Church and Statesaid St. Gertrude may lose her tax-exempt status for violating the law.

“He said some amazing words: 'I think you should vote for this person,'” she said. “He clearly violated it [the law] and I think he knew he was breaking.”

Yannina Diaz, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, responded to The Times' letter that it has strict guidelines regarding lobbying and political activities.

“The diocesan administrative office was not aware of the activities or statements made until after they occurred and spoke directly to Father Nabor,” he wrote. “He expressed remorse for his lack of understanding of the impact of his actions.”

Rios did not respond to a request for comment, but removed the campaign post from his Facebook account after The Times inquired about it with the archdiocese.

Pastor Nabor Rios of St. Gertrude the Great Catholic Church in Bell Gardens appeared to have violated federal law when she endorsed two candidates on her church-affiliated Facebook account. Removed the spaces.

(Facebook)

Markert said the Facebook post could cause trouble for the church if the IRS decides to investigate violations.

“There may be a conflict here because the official website of the church is linked to his Facebook page with election plans, and he speaks for the church in that way,” he said. “It's a little complicated and not so clear, but I think given the whole context of what happened in the week before the election, I think it was obvious that he was involved [a] Johnson Amendment violation.”

A spokesman for the diocese did not respond to other questions raised by The Times, including allegations that the priest allowed Guillen and Rodriguez to speak to parishioners about their appointment on church grounds in August.

In an interview with The Times, Guillen and Rodriguez denied being allowed to speak to voters on church grounds. Guillen, who is expected to be sworn in next month, said he did not ask Rios to endorse him during Mass.

The Times also sought to confirm whether the diocese received a July 2023 letter to the archbishop in which a parishioner complained about Rios' political activities.

“I am writing because I am very concerned about what is happening in St. Gertrude in Bell Gardens,” the letter reads. “For the past few weeks, Father Nabor has been speaking openly about political issues during the time at home and during the announcement at the end of the Mass.”

At the time, Rios and Rodriguez were among hundreds of residents who opposed a law that would have allowed marijuana dealers to operate in the city. The initiative was approved by the City Council in June 2023.

It was the third time Rodriguez tried to run for office. He served on the Bell Gardens City Council until 2019, when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge found him in breach of his duties by failing to attend meetings for at least 60 consecutive days on two occasions without reasonable cause. He was ordered pay the city more than $29,000 for the benefits and pay he received during his absence.

Michael O'Kelly, Bell Gardens city manager, said the money is still outstanding and that there is a lawsuit filed against his home. Rodriguez said his absence was due to health issues, and he was not aware of the lie.

The Times obtained a copy of a video of the Oct. 27 Sunday Mass in which Rios appeared to acknowledge Guillen, as well as a second video in which he told worshipers in Spanish that he had been reprimanded by the archdiocese for talking about politics. Rios has since removed the videos from his Facebook account.

“The bishop is telling me to stop,” he said in the second video, “I told him, 'I'm not going to stop.' Do you want to know why? Because we are more political than Catholics. Many of you love Trump more than Jesus Christ.”

Rodriguez and Guillen defended Rios, saying his actions came from a place of love for the community he loved and tried to protect.

“He's a voter, and like many of us, he has concerns,” Guillen said.

Rodriguez accused vested interests of targeting Rios because he speaks badly of them and because at least one of the candidates lost the election.

“Witch hunting,” he said. “They are upset that their person was not chosen.”

The Johnson Amendment has long been the subject of debate, with some religious broadcasters and other church-affiliated organizations saying it infringes on their free speech rights. Survey show, however, that the majority of Americans support the law.

“It's an incredibly popular law and that makes sense because no one likes to be told who to vote for, and people don't go to church expecting to hear political speeches,” said Markert. “They go to church expecting to worship.”

Experts have done so warned against removing the law because of the gap it can create in the fiscal policy campaigns. Churches don't have to disclose their donors to the IRS, so donors can seek to influence elections while remaining anonymous — and getting a tax deduction for their donations.

However, despite the lack of enforcement by the IRS, conservative and religious groups have sought to repeal the Johnson Amendment for years. They came close in 2016 when Trump vowed to end it.

The following year, Trump signed an executive order limiting sanctions on religious organizations for speaking about moral or political issues from a religious perspective.

This order did not have a significant effect on the law, but the return of Trump to the White House, the Republican control of the House and the Senate, and a strong majority in the Supreme Court gave religious groups, especially evangelical leaders, the hope that the law will soon stop being an obstacle for them.

“I think there are many members of the clergy who violate it and are brave about it because I think they see a federal court system that may accept a challenge to the Johnson Amendment and may be on the side of that,” said Markert. “But I don't think everyday Americans want that.”