I'm living in a different reality than that described by Fr. Reese. A reality in which the Soros Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Koch Family Foundation, and the Trump Foundation DO use their money to influence elections, in which the Catholic Church DOES immerse itself in electoral politics, one in which clergy routinely violate the spirit of the Johnson Amendment while barely observing the letter, and one in which the notion that the bishops remain "neutral" on the proposed revocation of the Johnson Amendment arouses skepticism. It may be that "priests telling laypeople how to vote is frowned upon by both the bishops and the pope," but (some) priests all but endorse the GOP over abortion and SSM. I know I didn't walk out of an election-season Mass over the priest's "neutrality."

Under the present regime the church can have its cake and eat it, too. It remains tax-exempt, and it can effectively violate the Johnson Amendment without fear of reprisal.