We oppose the use of public funds to fund a spiritual institution, according to the ACLU.
The West Virginia Water Development Authority is currently suing the organization for a$ 5 million grant to a Catholic trades college, alleging that the funding is in violation of the state constitution.
The College of St. Joseph the Worker is referred to as the College of St. Joseph the Worker in the West Virginia ACLU online, along with the American Humanist Association, in its petition.
According to the complaint,” The College of St. Joseph the Worker describes its function, including its technical job, as deeply and ultimately Catholic, indistinguishable from the College’s religious factors.”
The prestigious school is based in local Steubenville, Ohio, which is located a short distance from the West Virginia boundary. It also gives students the opportunity to graduate with a diploma in Catholic Studies while also teaching them about a particular business, such as wiring.
Billy Wolfe, the ACLU Communications Director, informed The College Fix via email that there were no more developments in the case as of March 14.
Wolfe stated via email that the skilled worker growth is still a component of the university’s religious education. We object to the use of this government funding to support a spiritual mission.
The Fix had questioned whether the money’s inclusion in a qualified contractor development program was important. According to its website, the water agency’s “mission is to provide communities in West Virginia with economic support for the development of waste, waters, and financial system that will guard the State’s streams, increase drinking water quality, protect public health, and encourage economic growth.”
According to the lawsuit, the money would be used to build a branch of the school in the position and” a mission-driven, non-profit construction and real estate development firm in West Virginia.”
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According to the agreement’s language, the grant would also be used to build “education facilities” for” the five major construction trades of HVAC, carpentry, masonry, electrical and plumbing ( including areas for tools and equipment storage ), and materials for training.
A$ 1 million request for “advocacy projects” is also criticized in the lawsuit. However, Wolfe asserted that in our lawsuit, there are no allegations of lobbying jobs.
No income can be used for a proposed conservative think tank, according to the ocean power.
The waters development authority and the school did not respond to requests for comment.
A Catholic chief asserted that the offer should not be subject to legal scrutiny.
According to Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights,” Case regulation makes it clear that religious institutions may get public funds when the goal is not to improve faith, but to provide for services that are entirely secular,” he told The Fix via an emailed statement.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Everson v. Board of Education ( 1947 ) that students who attended religious institutions ( in this case, Catholic institutions ) could use public transportation without breaking the Constitution, according to Donohue. The high court determined that the law had a “public purpose,” which was the safety of the students.
The West Virginia Water Authority supports secular services that serve a public purpose, according to Donohue, not religious instruction at the College of St. Joseph the Worker. It “has every right to do that.”
The ACLU cited state rulings to refute state laws that suggested the West Virginia state constitution should be read as being more open to the protection of rights than the federal constitution. In this instance, it asserts that non-religious individuals are more protected from being required to fund religious organizations.
However, in 2017, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned a state program’s decision to refuse a Lutheran preschool’s recycled scrap tire. The state was found to have violated the federal free exercise clause when it denied” an otherwise available public benefit on account of its religious status.”
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A skilled tradesman uses a machine, according to Charnsitr/Shutterstock.
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