Uncertainty Expressed Over FEMA Funds for Rebuilding Religious Schools
by Jody Brown
October 20, 2005
(AgapePress) - Should federal funds be used to rebuild religious schools damaged or destroyed by the recent hurricanes that struck America's Gulf Coast? While the White House says yes, the reaction from religious leaders varies. The Bush administration says religious schools are eligible for grants and loans from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to rebuild from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Jim Towey, who heads the president's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, says the White House has received numerous inquiries about federal aid from religious groups in New Orleans, where roughly half the students attend Catholic schools. He says Bush believes disasters "don't discriminate on the basis of religion and that government's response to them should not either."
Many religious groups, among them the Southern Baptist Convention and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage from the two hurricanes. But the federal funds, says Towey, will not be available to rebuild facilities that are used primarily for worship -- churches, mosques, and synagogues. "I just want to make it clear that any facility that's used primarily for inherently religious activities is not going to be covered," he said during a conference call with reporters.
Only those religious groups that run "essential, government-type facilities" can apply for FEMA reconstruction grants, Towey explains. In addition to religious schools, that would include nursing homes, assisted-living centers, and community centers. For example, Towey says a community center that housed a job training program during the week and was used for worship on weekends probably would be eligible -- but only for losses that are not covered by insurance or disaster loans available from the Small Business Administration.
Mixed Reaction
The announcement by the White House about FEMA aid for religious schools has brought a mixed reaction from religious groups, says the Washington Post. A spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says the policy reflects an "awareness that Catholic schools perform an important public service, including the education of children who are not Catholic."
But the executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty thinks the federal government should not be involved in rebuilding religious schools because, at the K-12 level, "[they] are almost pervasively religious in the same way that houses of worship are."
William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, endorses the administration's plan. He says the White House made the right decision -- both morally and legally.
"Morally, it makes sense to help all institutions affected by a natural disaster," says Donohue, "but constitutionally it could prove to be problematic in include houses of worship."
The Catholic League president notes that in 2002, FEMA awarded a half-million-dollar grant to the Seattle Hebrew Academy to rebuild after being struck by an earthquake. The ramifications of that decision, according to Donohue, are coming into play now. "That was the right decision then," he says, "and it is the right decision now for the government to help rebuild parochial schools in New Orleans."
Associated Press contributed to this article.
