c. 1999 Religion News Service

Appeals court upholds Maine ban on parochial school vouchers

(RNS) Maine has no constitutional obligation to subsidize religious schools by providing vouchers to pay for students’ tuition, a federal appeals court said Tuesday (June 1).

The ruling upheld a state law barring such voucher payments.

Currently, Maine families who live in towns without public secondary schools may send pupils to any public or nonsectarian private school _ but not religious schools _ with the state picking up at least part of the tuition.

Joseph Conn, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the ruling a major defeat for school voucher proponents.

Supporters of vouchers to pay tuition at religious schools have scored a number of wins in recent months, including most recently in Ohio where the state Supreme Court said a voucher program did not violate the separation of church and state.

Given the different outcomes of rulings around the country, it appears likely the issue will be brought to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Monday’s ruling, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston agreed with a lower judge’s ruling that the state is not constitutionally required to extend subsidies provided students in non-public school towns to religious schools.”This is the highest federal court that has ruled on the school voucher issue,”Conn said.”Because of that, it’s a very important decision.” But Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, a legal advocacy group founded by television broadcaster Pat Robertson, said the ruling conflicts with a Supreme Court decision to let stand a Wisconsin voucher program that provides financial aid to poor families whose children attend religious schools.

Plaintiffs, a group of Maine parents, argued the state law barring the aid to religious schools violated the Constitution by showing hostility toward religion.

The appeals court rejected the argument.”All it means is that the cost of religious education must be borne by the parents and not the state,”Chief Judge Juan R. Torruella wrote in the ruling.

Pope makes”urgent appeal”for reconciliation and dialogue in Colombia

(RNS) Pope John Paul II made an”urgent appeal”Wednesday (June 2) for reconciliation in Colombia where gunmen kidnapped a priest and his entire congregation during a Mass last Sunday.

Addressing some 15,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly general audience, the Roman Catholic pontiff urged dialogue to find a solution to the conflict that pits Marxist rebels against government forces.”Sad news continues to arrive from Colombia where last Sunday in the Church of the Transfiguration of Cali an armed group sacrilegiously interrupted the holy Mass, kidnapping many people, among them the priest,”the pope said in Spanish.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement Tuesday (June 1) that the Holy See was astonished by the attack.”I must manifest the astonishment of the Holy See at this absurd violation of human rights,”he said.”Yet again: violation of the human person in the most noble act, which is the adoration of God.” In Bogota, Archbishop Isaias Duarte Cancino excommunicated the guerrillas saying,”They have violated human rights as well as the holy name of the church.” John Paul noted that guerrillas have carried out similar operations in the past in the interior of the country and have assassinated church personnel.”Faced with acts of this magnitude, I renew my urgent appeal for reconciliation, respecting the rights of persons and committed to a dialogue aimed at finding a solution to this grave crisis,”he said.

In Sunday’s attack in a wealthy neighborhood of the western city of Cali, some 30 gunmen believed to belong to the National Liberation Army, Colombia’s second largest rebel group, forced more than 140 worshippers into two trucks. They released some of the group, but authorities said they believe about 60 people _ 40 men and 20 women _ are still being held.

The guerrillas also hold 25 passengers, one of them a U.S. citizen, from a plane they hijacked April 12 and forced to land in the jungle.

Church group: Balkans conflict not a religious war

(RNS) An ecumenical delegation recently returned from Yugoslavia says the Balkan conflict should not be portrayed as a religious war pitting Serbian Orthodox Christians agains Muslims or Western Christians against the Orthodox.”The delegation believes it is important to emphasize, over and over again if necessary, that this is not a religious conflict,”said Elizabeth Ferris of the World Council of Churches and a delegation member.”Its causes are complex and solutions must recognize that complexity.” The delegation, which visited Macedonia and Albania from May 17-25, was sponsored by the WCC, the Lutheran World Federation and the Conference of European Churches.

The group also underscored the effect of the war on Yugoslavia’s neighbors, such as Albania and Macedonia.”The effects of this conflict on the neighboring countries will last for years,”said Antonio Papantoniou of the Church of Greece. He said it is not enough just to assist the Kosovar refugees that have poured into Albania and Macedonia but also”the many nations who are suffering because of the war.”In order to prevent popular resentment towards the refugees, the international community should respond to local needs as well,”he said.

Gambling commission ponders urging ban on political contributions

(RNS) The National Gambling Impact Study Commission, entering the final phase of its work, is considering proposing that the gaming industry be barred from making political campaign donations.

The commission, with members appointed by both Congress and the White House, opened its final two days of meetings on Wednesday (June 2).

Commissioner Richard Leone, a former treasurer of New Jersey, said the commission should urge states to emulate New Jersey’s ban on political campaign donations by anyone in the gambling business, the Associated Press reported.

Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., president of the American Gaming Association and a former head of the Republican National Committee, said defeating the ban on political contributions will be the casino industry’s top goal during the week.

The commission is also poised to recommend urging state and local governments to impose a moratorium on gambling expansion.

Fahrenkopf said while he opposes the use of the word moratorium, he supports the idea of state and local governments considering gambling should first”pause, make sure you have all the evidence on both sides, all the pros and cons, so you make an informed decision.” The commission has already agreed on a number of recommendations, including a minimum age of 21 to place bets, less aggressive state lottery advertising and more funding of programs to treat gambling addicts.

The commission cannot impose any of its ideas. That will be up to Congress, the White House, state governments and Indian tribal leaders.

Commissioner James Dobson, president of the conservative Focus on the Family, said his greatest hope is that”the American people will begin to look at what gambling does (and) begin to recognize that it has a definite downside.”

Quote of the day: Mark Holbrook, Christian Management Association

(RNS)”We feel equally intensely about abortion, but there is a growing number of us who feel the issue we care about most is depth of character and commitment to Christian faith. If you think about it, what’s more important, a person’s position on abortion or a person’s personal faith in the Lord? That’s the foundation. Everything starts there.” _ Mark Holbrook, a board member of the Christian Management Association, quoted in the Washington Post on June 2 on how evangelicals view the forthcoming presidential campaign.

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