Jewish group claims AmeriCorps crosses church-state line

By The Associated Press

10.04.02

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WASHINGTON — A Jewish group is suing the independent federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps and other programs, claiming it is crossing the line between church and state by sponsoring religious teaching in some schools.

The American Jewish Congress filed the lawsuit yesterday in federal court against the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps.

The Jewish group asked the court to stop AmeriCorps from funding programs that teach religion, saying government support for religious instruction in sectarian schools is a violation of the Constitution.

The lawsuit was filed the same day the Bush administration announced it was awarding $25 million in federal grants to 21 groups, several of them religious. But the American Jewish Congress said its lawsuit was not prompted by that or other Bush administration programs involving religious groups.

President Bush has been pushing a "faith-based initiative" to award more money to religious organizations, but it has stalled in Congress because of debate over how religious programs can be given government money without violating the first part of the First Amendment, which says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

The American Jewish Congress alleges the Corporation for National and Community Service provides grants to parochial institutions, including the Alliance for Catholic Education. The grants allow such institutions to teach Christian values to AmeriCorps participants and to hold daily Mass and prayer services, the complaint said.

AmeriCorps members, who help more than 2,100 charities and religious groups with community-improvement projects, are barred by their contract from participating in religious activities, it said.

The lawsuit was prompted by comments made by corporation officials in a television debate more than a year ago, said Marc Stern, a lawyer for the American Jewish Congress. Stern, who participated in the debate, recalled corporation officials admitting they had been sending people into Catholic schools for years.

The American Jewish Congress investigated and attempted to negotiate with the corporation, but filed the lawsuit when no action was taken, Stern said.

Stern said the lawsuit had nothing to do with the Bush administration's faith-based initiative. "The particular contracts we're challenging are Clinton-era contracts," he said.

"We think some parts of this (case) are open and shut," he said. "We're not trying to put the national service corporation out of business. We're seeking to prohibit people from teaching religion or living in a religious community under the auspices of the government."

Calls to the Corporation for National and Community Service were not immediately returned.

The agency, which was created by Congress in 1993, oversees Senior Corps, Learn and Serve America and AmeriCorps, whose workers help nonprofit groups build affordable housing, teach skills, run after-school programs and organize disaster assistance.

Grants are distributed by AmeriCorps to nonprofit agencies.

The $25 million in administration grants announced yesterday represent the first tangible result of Bush's faith-based initiative, which stalled in Congress amid fierce debate over how religious programs can get government money without running afoul of the constitutional separation of church and state.

Some winners of Compassion Capital Fund grants are traditional social service providers, including Catholic Charities and the United Way. Winners are supposed to help smaller groups run programs and win a piece of the multibillion-dollar pot of government money available for social services.

The grants were created to provide technical assistance to smaller churches and others that need help applying for and running government programs. As designed by the Department of Health and Human Services, the groups that get grants will then make sub-grants to help these smaller groups establish and run programs.

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