Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
July 10, 2002
Bishops start dealing with new rules on sex-abusing priests
Current and retired priests affected by new USCCB rules being imposed
By Jerry Filteau
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Within days of their historic June 13-15 meeting on clerical sex abuse of minors, some U.S. bishops began implementing the new national charter they established in Dallas.
Several priests with past records of abuse who had been restored to ministry or Church-related office jobs following treatment were removed from those posts, including eight in Chicago. Some retired priests were informed they could no longer wear clerical garb, present themselves as priests or say Mass publicly.
Bishops held planning meetings with diocesan staff and issued statements or spoke with reporters about what would be done locally to carry out the Dallas decisions.
There were new criminal and civil actions against priests accused of sexual abuse, and attorneys on both
Voucher backers hail ruling; foes say program drains public schools
Court's decision a `significant victory for parents,' says USCCB education secretary
By Willy Thorn
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Supporters of school vouchers said the Supreme Court's June 27 ruling upholding Cleveland's voucher program is a great victory for parental decision-making about their children's education, while opponents expressed fear that vouchers will siphon resources away from struggling public schools.
The 5-4 ruling said the voucher program is "neutral in regard to religion" and does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.
The Cleveland program uses taxpayer money to provide up to $2,250 annually for children in low-income families to attend other public or private schools or pay for tutors. The majority of participants use their vouchers to pay tuition at church-affiliated schools, nearly all of which are Catholic.
Noting that "the Catholic Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children," Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago said the decision "is an important step toward helping those parents who choose to send their children to nongovernment schools and who often struggle to pay tuition that is sometimes 10 percent of their income."
"The court's decision is a significant victory for parents — especially low-income parents — and reinforces the basic right of all parents to choose the school they believe best serves the education needs of their children," said Dominican Sister Glenn Anne McPhee, secretary for education for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"This decision supports the responsibility of the government to assist parents to exercise this basic right whether they choose to send their children to a public, private or religious school," she added.
John Huebscher, executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference said, "Parental choice is neither a poison for public education nor a panacea for every child with learning difficulties. It is rather another useful strategy to help parents exercise their rights and responsibilities as primary educators of their children.
"School vouchers are yet another way we can make our society and culture more `family friendly' when parents are faced with so many demands on their time and the need to work longer hours outside the home," he said. "The fact that voucher programs are constitutional should in no way diminish our commitment to public schools. Wisconsin is proof that public, religious and independent schools can coexist and serve all students well."
Robert Holland, senior fellow for the Lexington Institute, said the decision could "deliver what the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision promised but never delivered: equal educational opportunity."
"States now are free to reform school finance so as to advance choice and healthy competition in education," he said. "They could drop guaranteed subsidies of systems that have stubbornly resisted reform and instead let public money follow a child to the school his parents choose."
However, Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association, said that "vouchers are not reform."
"If policymakers want to act on issues that parents care most about — the kitchen table discussions about education opportunity for their children — they will address teacher quality, class size, making sure all schools have high expectations for every child, and providing the resources to help students succeed," he said.
Norman Redlich, chair of the American Jewish Congress Commission on Law and Social Action agreed, saying: "The way to improve public education is to cure decades of neglect, not to drain away additional funds in the name of encouraging competition."
He added that the decision is "likely to have an impact in every sphere where private philanthropic programs incorporate religious thinking, for example, those involving charitable choice."
Michael Guerra, president of the National Catholic Educational Association, said: "Now that the constitutional debate is over, advocates and opponents of school choice will focus exclusively on the public policy question: Is it wise or foolish for government to support the decisions parents of modest means would like to make about the schools in which their children are educated? We believe it not only wise, but also just."
His point was echoed by Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua of Philadelphia, who said the decision "affirms that school choice is a matter of justice."
"For students suffering in underperforming schools, school choice is an imperative," he said. "Vouchers ensure that parents, especially poor parents, have a choice when it comes to the education of their children."
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