Posted on 09/02/2002 8:01:17 AM PDT by mware
CARDINAL IN HOLY WAR OVER SCHOOLS
By CARL CAMPANILE
September 2, 2002 -- EXCLUSIVE
Edward Cardinal Egan has charged that New York politicians are violating poor parents' "fundamental" rights by denying them the option to send their kids to parochial schools - instead forcing them into oft-failing public schools.
"Regrettably, many in public office have allowed political barriers to rise, and they are the ones who keep the barriers standing," Egan and other New York bishops said in a biting, 10-page pastoral letter on parental rights in education, a copy of which was obtained by The Post.
"We call for the creation of strategic alliances with members of all religious faiths, minority and ethnic communities, the business community and others to speak with one voice to uphold the rights of parents and to bring about fundamental reform of our educational policies."
The letter, titled "Every Parent, Every Child," says poor kids get short shrift because state lawmakers are bought off or kept in line by powerful teachers unions that support the status quo.
"They influence legislators not only through millions of dollars of direct contributions to political campaigns each year, but also through their own political activities designed to elect legislators who will support them and defeat those who will not," Egan and the bishops said of the unions.
It's the group's first policy statement since the U.S. Supreme Court in June OK'd a Cleveland program that gives poor parents public funds to enroll their children in parochial schools. For much of the year, Egan and the church have grappled with sex scandals involving priests.
The statement says a religious or private education should not be limited to those families who can afford tuition.
Church officials said many public schools in the poorest neighborhoods are terrible.
"Often, these government schools are ones parents would otherwise avoid because their academic performance is questionable or even failing. They are devoid of the moral standards that are important to the parents and, in some cases, they present a clear danger to the health and safety of children and teachers," the statement said.
Egan and the bishops recommended the following as part of a system overhaul:
* Taxpayer-funded vouchers or tax credits for parochial schooling, which would require a change in state law.
* Public funding enabling special-education students to attend religious schools.
* State aid for remedial instruction or tutoring for parochial-school students who score poorly on state standardized exams. The state attorney general has concluded that such funding would be legal.
* Government-funded resources for instructional materials and computers at all schools.
Parochial schools already receive government support for some of these services
VOUCHER BUMPS
I got to know him pretty well when he was Bishop of Bridgeport. His columns in the diocesan newspaper were faithful and true to the Church's teaching, including right-to-life issues. He went to Washington more than once for the annual right-to-life march, in the days when very few priests or bishops showed up. And he was named to his present post because the Pope judged him to be a good shepherd and faithful Catholic, worthy to follow Cardinal O'Connell.
I wish him well. He has remained faithful to the life issue and now is spearheading the voucher issue.
Cardinal's Dying Wish: Keep Clinton Out of St. Patrick's
NewsMax.com Monday, May 8, 2000
As Cardinal O'Connor battled brain cancer and faced death during the past eight months, he remained steadfast in his distaste of Bill Clinton.
A source close to the Cardinal tells NewsMax.com that O'Connor had a long-standing order to keep Bill Clinton out of St. Patrick's Cathedral – no matter how important the occasion.
Last week the White House announced that both Bill and Hillary Clinton would be attending the Cardinal's funeral mass at St. Patrick's, set for Monday afternoon.
"O'Connor would have gone berserk if he knew Clinton was coming," the source said.
O'Connor was said to be extremely hostile to Clinton, a man who annoyed him on several levels. O'Connor had been a veteran, a Navy Admiral who had served in the military and in the front lines of Vietnam.
Clinton's draft avoidance record didn't sit well with the Cardinal, nor did Clinton's corruption.
O'Connor was also annoyed with Clinton's strong advocacy of partial birth abortion – a procedure O'Connor likened to infanticide.
O'Connor's animus toward the president erupted after the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.
In the days after the tragedy, Mayor Giuliani had organized a memorial service for the victims' families at JFK Airport.
Cardinal O'Connor was set to officiate, until he found out Clinton planned on attending. "If Clinton is coming, you can count me out," O'Connor's office bluntly told the mayor's office.
Clinton was quickly disinvited.
A month or so after the crash, O'Connor hosted his own memorial mass at St. Patrick's for the victims. Clinton was in New York that weekend for a birthday party and the White House called the Archdiocese and asked if he could attend.
The answer from the Cardinal's Office was blunt: Bill Clinton is not welcome at St. Patrick's.
Yes I do and I realize that the "majority" of Catholic Priests are not Pedophiles, but that dosen't alter the risk calculation with them most innocent group amoung us.
"The pedos are just looking for some fresh meat to molest! I bet they only want educational reform for boys age 5-12!" Post #9 by Conservative for Life.
Sorry Charlie, but the fresh meat refrence was yours not mine.
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