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Posted on 08/13/2006 7:03:51 AM PDT by AlaninSA
The 124th annual convention of the Knights of Columbus today [Aug. 3] adopted a resolution expressing its “support for Catholic schools everywhere,” and calling for “legislation that would establish educational choice programs providing financial assistance to parents who wish to send their children to Catholic schools.
The resolution notes that “parents must often bear a double burden in order to send their children to Catholic schools, paying taxes to support government schools as well as tuition at the parochial schools.”
For years, opponents of educational choice programs claimed that they were unconstitutional, but the resolution points out that the Supreme Court “ruled in 2002 in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris that a properly structured school choice program does not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, clearing the way for voucher or tax credit programs that would provide tuition support to parents who choose to send their children to Catholic schools.”
The resolution points out that the Knights of Columbus is currently funding a study by the National Catholic Educational Association on “ways to strengthen Catholic schools, particularly those in urban areas, where they often serve the neediest students.”
After Hurricane Katrina, the Knights of Columbus donated $500,000 to the Catholic school system in New Orleans for tuition grants for lower-income children whose parents were suddenly without jobs. Prior to the storm, the Catholic schools of New Orleans educated approximately 40 percent of the students in the city. After the storm, when only a handful of the 128 public schools were able to reopen, 80 percent of the Catholic school students were back in class within weeks. New Orleans Archbishop Alfred Hughes publicly thanked the Knights for their assistance in the wake of the hurricane in a speech to the convention on Tuesday afternoon.
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Zelman...Jewish??? What's with these anti-Christian ACLU coming after EVERYTHING Christian...our schoold, our pledge, our money, our monuments, our mottos.....STOP IT!!!
Relax. These Jews are anti-Jewish as well. They are upset by the influence of the Orthodox Jews. Since one young Jew in five is Orthodox, and since the liberal Jews don't like to have children or don't marry Jews, they will be extinct by 2050, or little left except the "smile" of a " (German) "Jewish" name.
I have never understood the term "self-hating" Jew until recently.
Alan--
Wake me up when the Order passes a strong resolution allowing ANY Council to kick Pro Abort Politicians out of the Order for "scandal to the Faith and to the Roman Catholic Church." I've been waiting for that one for many years. And, I am speaking about Knights who are pols, who advertise the fact that they are Knights and who still follow the "I am personally opposed but...." line of rationalization as they vote for Partial Birth Abortion.
F
Keep up the good fight, my good friend! It is high time we passed on the Catholic Faith undiluted.
F
My grandfather was a 4th degree Knight.
It's strange how important Catholic organizations, like the K of C and EWTN, which are not directly connected to the Church, are much more effective in addressing important public policy issues than the USCCB.
With respect to the Knights, I think this is a bit misguided. While I personally would like to see something like vouchers, I just don't see that happening in the U.S. anytime soon.
What I'd much rather see the Knights or some other Catholic service organization do is make a big push to encourage Catholic families to homeschool. While the Catholic schools are certainly an option, they have some weaknesses. First, they're relatively expensive both for families and parishes. For large families or Parishes of modest means they may be unaffordable. Second, the educational attainment levels of private schools aren't quite up to homeschooling. Third, when it comes to the teaching of the faith, I think that a homeschool environment has significant advantages. And finally, there are many areas of the U.S. where Catholic schools simply don't exist.
Oh, and another thing. Government funds ALWAYS come with strings attached. ALWAYS.
I'm already concerned about the lengths which we as Catholics will go to tone down our message, pull our punches, etc. in order to maintain tax free status. By having our schools funded by the Government, we simply slide further down the slippery slope. For example, let's say that in order to accept these government funds, Catholic schools would not be able to teach that homosexuality is disordered or that abortion is wrong.
One might argue that this is unlikely to happen. I would beg to differ. Take a hard look at what happened with CSS and adoption in Massachusetts.
He who pays the piper usually ends up calling the tune.
Let's just organize us a massive private voucher system for all Catholic children. Archbishop Chaput has started growing a voucher fund with a goal of $3 million to serve ArchDen Catholics. If enough Catholics opt-in to Catholic schooling, and if we can keep the public-funded school system operating on (don't laugh!) realistic economic principles, school taxes will decrease along with demand for public schooling.
While we're at it, let's support the revival of teaching orders of religious sisters and brothers, to keep costs down and spiritual quality high.
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