Religion & Law

Here is Fr. Ted's op-ed, published after the Senate -- on an almost party-line vote -- rejected Sen. Lieberman's efforts to save D.C.'s Opportunity Scholarship Program.  This rejection is repulsive, and represents the worst kind of pandering to unworthy interests, at the expense of poor children.  (But hey, that's just me.  And Fr. Ted.)  After celebrating the election of Barack Obama, our first African-American president (a president who, of course, came to Notre Dame to pay tribute to Fr. Ted and enjoy some of the glow of his legacy), and after noting the negative consequences of the Senate's decision for Catholic schools that serve low-income (predominantly non-Catholic) kids in D.C., Fr. Ted continues:

I have devoted my life to equal opportunity for all Americans, regardless of skin color. I don't pretend that this one program is the answer to all the injustices in our education system. But it is hard to see why a program that has proved successful shouldn't have the support of our lawmakers. The end of Opportunity Scholarships represents more than the demise of a relatively small federal program. It will help write the end of more than a half-century of quality education at Catholic schools serving some of the most at-risk African-American children in the District.

I cannot believe that a Democratic administration will let this injustice stand.

Unfortunately, this Democratic administration (like any other, given the political givens) will almost certainly let this injustice stand.  But, Fr. Ted has, I suspect, a lot more pull than I do in some pretty powerful quarters, so I'll hope his loyalty and confidence does not turn out to be unwarranted.