Catholic Group Scandalized by Legislator's Scathing Arguments for Background Checks
by Jim Brown
November 4, 2003
(AgapePress) - A New York City-based Catholic civil-rights group is offended by comments made by a Wisconsin lawmaker during debate over an amendment to voucher legislation.During a recent debate in the Wisconsin legislature, State Senator Gwendolynne Moore pushed for an amendment to legislation expanding Milwaukee's school choice program. The amendment would require background checks of voucher school employees every five years.
Joseph DeFeo of the Catholic League notes that Moore, rather than confining her remarks to the issue, repeatedly cited the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal and unfairly declared that opponents of her measure were protecting pedophile priests -- remarks DeFeo feels were both manipulative and untruthful.
DeFeo says that Moore, in order to make her case, "used some sensationalistic rhetoric, playing off the poisonous atmosphere that is surrounding the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal." He adds that the senator "warned that, basically, the voucher program as it stands will allow rapists to get at people's children."
But the Catholic League's advocate notes that the Milwaukee Archdiocese already conducts background checks. In fact, he is convinced that Moore's proposed changes to the current system would bring about legislative overkill.
"Her amendment, if anything, imposes an undue burden -- it causes the state to sort of have to poke its nose into all sorts of places in the private schools," DeFeo says, "and having the state directly police the schools is probably not the most efficient way of solving the matter. It just creates another level of bureaucracy."
DeFeo feels it is better, whenever possible, to allow voucher schools to police themselves, "as the Catholic schools are doing now," he says. His group is calling on Moore to apologize to area Roman Catholics for accusing her opponents of protecting "rapists."
