Impeachment on Minds of Clergy, but Less on Lips

After the Watergate scandal broke 25 years ago, minister John Huffman counseled then-President Richard Nixon to “confess to the Lord and the American people” if he knew anything. Nixon denied wrongdoing, to his minister and to the public, and was later forced out of office.

A quarter-century later, Huffman--now senior pastor at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach--says the same bit of nonpartisan advice applies to the embattled President Clinton.

“The one thing the American people won’t stand for is a lie,” he said. “The one thing that brought both men down is the dishonesty. All the forgiveness in the world doesn’t change the consequences of sin. For the sake of the nation, he should resign.”

Huffman feels so strongly about it that the message was part of his sermon Sunday--the day after the House impeachment vote. Many other Orange County religious leaders, however, are less ready to speak out on impeachment, fearing that taking a stand on a political question would put their credibility at risk.

“We have to be very careful or else the pastor can come across as partisan. That’s not a good fit for someone who’s supposed to be a shepherd for all people,” said the Rev. Dan Schaeffer of Foothills Evangelical Free Church in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Their depth of feeling only shows that Orange County’s religious community is every bit as divided as the American public over the impeachment issue. Local religious leaders are split not only over the wisdom of removing the president but over whether the debate belongs in churches, synagogues and mosques.

One clear voice is that of Crystal Cathedral founder Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who made a public plea in Monday’s Wall Street Journal for Clinton to step down rather than face a Senate trial.

“How tragic that a president with such promise and ability has become such a polarizing force,” Schuller wrote. “I believe that impeachment is punishment enough. But if there is no avoiding a trial in the Senate, then Mr. President, I ask that you look within your conscience and summon the will and strength to end this agony.”

Schuller spokesman Larry Sonnenburg said the clergyman’s concern is finding a path toward healing. “It’s not a finger-pointing, blaming attitude. He comes at this from a pastor’s point of view. How do we make things right again?”

Many other clergy members say they cannot avoid the topic.

“When an issue so vexes the country and splits us, it’s irresponsible not to speak about it from the pulpit,” said Rabbi Arnold Rachlis of University Synagogue in Irvine. “People want to hear what traditional religious wisdom says to this issue.”

In his case, Rachlis spoke to his congregation on mercy and empathy, or rachmonis, the day after the impeachment vote. In Jewish tradition, defaming or publicly humiliating someone in public is considered one of the worst sins imaginable, he said.

“I think it’s a terrible tragedy for the country,” he said. “Much worse than the private behavior of the president, which was incredibly inappropriate, is the self-righteous hypocrisy and vindictiveness of those in Congress who voted for impeachment. It’s contemporary McCarthyism.”

Still, others feel that by passing judgment on the impeachment issue, they risk being seen as political.

Evangelical churches, in particular, “are becoming so aligned with one party that we cease to be a conscience for both parties,” said Pastor Danny Bellesi of the evangelical Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo. “There are certain people who want me and others to take a stronger stand on this, and I resist on purpose because I don’t want to be put in a box.”

Schaeffer, of Foothills Evangelical Free Church, said he is willing to take stands on issues of character and morality, but when he does, it’s on a more general level.

“We can’t just say, ‘Gee, Clinton has these character problems and we should impeach him.’ I’m not sure that’s a decision the church should make. Our goal is to say, ‘Let’s look at the character issue on a comprehensive level.’ When we see Bob Livingston get up and be just as guilty of immorality as anyone else, we’re reminded that immorality crosses partisan lines.”