SAN DIEGO — Evangelist Morris Cerullo, a religious broadcaster with an international ministry, has been indicted on charges of filing false income tax returns.
Cerullo, president of San Diego-based Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, misstated his income from 1998 and 2000 by more than $550,000, the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of California announced July 12.
He has been charged with three counts of falsely filing tax returns. Each count has a maximum penalty of $100,000 and three years in prison.
The charges came after an investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service.
Cerullo’s lawyer, Gregory Vega, said the evangelist will fight the charges, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
‘Spiritual progressives’ launch new network
BERKELEY, Calif. — More than 1,200 “spiritual progressives” from around the country gathered July 20–23 at a conference to begin building an organization for the spiritual and religious left.
Dubbed the Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP), the new organization seeks to challenge not only religious conservatives but also America’s materialistic culture and the anti-religious bias among secular liberals, conference architect Rabbi Michael Lerner said.
“The monologue of the religious right is finally over,” said Jim Wallis of Sojourners, a progressive organization of Christians based in Washington. “(There’s been) one loud voice on faith politics, and this conference shows that’s changing dramatically.”
A follow-up conference is planned for Feb. 10–13 in Washington.
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