Editorial

Fed Faith-Based Group Aid Is Longstanding, Legally Sound

We were not surprised to see knee-jerk opposition spring up after President George W. Bush created a White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The subject of church and state inter-relations, such as the abortion issue or parochial schools, can set off a scorching emotional debate in an instant.

Our first reaction was that the proposal deserves to be given a chance to succeed because its focus is trying to help organizations whose prime purpose is assisting individuals to help themselves to become better people or to provide for those lacking basic needs such as sustenance and shelter.

No one can quarrel with these objectives. In fact, this sort of federal assistance is already in existence and is generally praised and extolled.

For many years, federal government grants to churches and synagogues and volunteer religious groups for daily lunches provided in senior centers which they operate have drawn praises from seniors and their advocates.

In recent years, religious organizations have operated programs to help the homeless by providing shelter and a warm bed on cold winter nights, relying on government funds. No one can object to this as violation of the separation of church and state principle.

Longer-term programs, such as alcohol or drug rehabilitation and domestic violence assistance for battered wives and children, have also been operated with government funds funneled to groups with religious orientation.

Another good example of federal funds being used by an off-shoot of a religious group is the Jewish Community Council. The Queens Jewish Community Council (QJCC) operates a program to maintain the security of senior citizens’ homes and apartments, installing door locks and window locks and implementing other security measures. The funds come from federal government grants to the city’s Department for the Aging (DFTA) and then to the QJCC and other social service groups.

Commenting recently on a similar program in the Bronx, Jordan-Barowitz, a spokesman for City Council Speaker Peter Vallone (D-Astoria) stated:

"There are laws about what to use the money for. They can’t use it to proselytize. They must use it for non-denominational purposes. Some of them do a tremendous job."

A QJCC official, David Edelstein, speaking on the same subject, stated: "We’re not using our religious tradition as part of our social work. We have used money to help a family that had nowhere to turn."

It appears to us that the president’s program would broaden the scope of previous government aided programs, examples of which we have provided.

In announcing the program, the president said its purpose was to "equip, enable, empower and expand the work of faith-based and other community organizations to the extent permitted by law."

He also said the new office would not be used to fund religious activities. We agree wholeheartedly. In no way should federal monies be used to pay for the purely religious activities of any church, temple or synagogue or to assist such religious organizations in recruiting new members.

Explaining his aid plan, the president stated: "Government cannot be replaced by charities, but it can welcome them as partners instead of resenting them as rivals."

Giving further insight into his objective, the president stated, "The days of discriminating against religious institutions, simply because they are religious, must come to an end."

While giving our tentative blessing to this well-intentioned proposal, we feel we must also point out the possible dangers inherent in it. For instance, careful measures must be included to make certain that "the laws about what to use the money for" are strictly followed.

In addition, politics must be kept out. The Bush Administration must not use the program to build political power and groups should not receive or use the funds for political reasons.

We await further details on how much the president proposes to spend on the program and how it will be operated. There is the opportunity here, as the president has said, "to help churches, synagogues, mosques and other such groups [to] become more fully accessible to more Americans," a chance to help the truly needy who might otherwise fall through the cracks.

We hope that chance is not somehow wasted or lost in the details.