Religion & Law

The news reports have it that Rep. Pelosi showed her political savvy by putting in a call to Fr. Hesburgh, asking him to deliver a "yes" vote by (my) Congressman, Joe Donnelly, a pro-life Democrat who had been, along with Rep. Stupak and a few others, indicating a willingness to vote "no", on pro-life grounds.  Now, I have *not* seen any reports that confirm either that Fr. Hesburgh took the call, or that he actually spoke with Rep. Donnelly.  (I'd welcome updates.)  I wonder, though -- *if* they did speak, did Fr. Hesburgh mention to Rep. Pelosi his concerns -- which he expressed in this op-ed the other day -- about the Democrats' strange, but unwavering, hostility to the small school-choice program in Washington, D.C.  As he wrote:

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.

One would have hoped that the Administration would have listened to Fr. Hesburgh before, regarding this injustice.  After all, the University gave the President a wonderful platform at its Commencement last year, and the University's President praised him warmly.  Now, Fr. Hesburgh may well have played an important role in securing passage of the President's signature legislative agenda-item.  Surely, it's not too much to ask, in the world of politics, that the Administration and the Speaker now support the use of a few dollars to provide hope to low-income children in D.C.?