Evening star., 1950-10-01
The Week in Religion
By RELIGIOUS News Service

The issue of State sep
aration has been reopened with
the filing of court suit in Jeffer-
son City. Mo-, to stop payment of
state funds to schools allegedly
controlled by the Roman Catholic
Church.
Suit was filed by the Missouri
Association for Free Public Schools
on behalf of residents of five Mis-
souri, counties. Four school dis
tricts were named as receiving
such aid. The association asked
that state support be suspended
or that the districts be removed
from Catholic control.
The plaintiffs alleged that some
of the schools held classes in
buildings owned by the Catholic
Church and that in many in
stances the teachers were members
of Catholic orders.
Before the filing of the suit the
Rev. William A. G.. Williamson,
pastor of a Methodist church in
Columbia, Mo-, and treasurer of
the association. said that more
than 100 nuns are teaching in
Missouri public schools. He also
claimed that Catholic c-controlled
schools receive more than $500, 900
annually in direct and indirect
aid from the State.
School Board Advertises.
One immediate reaction was
that the school board of Linn,
Mo-, advertised in two local papers
that it will not rehire Catholic
nuns as public school teachers.
The board expressed the view
that "the present manner of sup
porting st. Georges School at
Linn with public moneys violates
our constitutional guarantees of
religious liberty"
Linn is the seat of Usage
County, a school district which is
mentioned in the suit.
j. M. Wilson, superintendent of
schools in adjacent Cole County,
also mentioned in the suit, said
the arrangement was justif1able
because the average level of edu-
cation attained by the nuns fire.
quently was higher than that of
non-sectarian teachers.
Other Suits Pending.
Meanwhile, two suits of SINH
lar nature are still pending in the
State of New Mexico, one involv-
ing Catholics and the other
Protestants.
Hearings are expected in the
State Supreme Court either in
November or January on the long,
drawn-out Dixon case. In this
case, group Of New Mexico
Protestants are appealing a de-
cision handed down in June, 1949,
by a district judge in Santa Fe
forever barring 139 members of
Catholic churches from teaching
IN the States unsupported
schools.
The decision did not, however,
bar members of Catholic orders
as a group from teaching. The
plaintiffs want priests, nuns and
brothers barred as class, or at
least prohibited from wearing re-
llgious garb while engaged in such
teaching.
They contend that Northern
New Mexico schools, where the
Catholic clerics are employed as
teachers, are "parochial schools
and are Illegally subsidized by
public funds"
State education officials have
defended the use of members of
religious orders as teachers on the
ground that the priests, nuns and
brothers are employed in isolated
communities which might not
otherwise be able to furnish school
facilities.
Opposite Case Noted.
OF an opposite nature is the So
called Lindrith case, involving al
legged Protestant teaching and
ceremonies in public schools.
Two members of the Lindrith,
N M, school board have ap-
pealed to the State Supreme Court
against the action of a district
judge in dismissing charges
against teachers accused of pro-
noting Protestant teachings In
local classrooms.
1t had been charged that four
teachers used denominational re-
ligious books in the towns public
school. that Protestant publica-
tions were distributed to students
during school hours and that the
teachers took part in commence
ment exercises held in Presbyter-
ian and Baptist churches.
The complaint further said the
teachers led prayers of a sec
tartan and denominational nature
at weekly assemblies of the stu
dents and that they permitted the
preaching Of religious sermons to
the pupils.
One Of the school board men,
bers joining in the appeal, OBJ
viously referring to the Dixon
case. said. IF it's illegal for one
bunch to preach in school, it's
illegal for the Others"
Nuns Change Clothes.
Two years ago North Dakota
voters adopted a referendum
measure prohibiting public school
teachers from wearing clothing
denoting membership in a reli-
gious order.
AS a result, two Catholic bishops
OF the State advised teaching nuns