The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1961-09-01

cIUdes some IS books in fine
fields Of philosophy. religion
and education, is research
professor of theology at the
University of Notre Dame.
BY
FIR. JOHN A. O'BRIEN
What does Prof. Arthur
{. Sutherland say about
fhe eonstitUtionaIity of
public aid in fhe form
of long-ferm loans TO
public and to noaprofit pri.
Vste schools for school pUr-
poses generally?
An eminent authority on
constitutional law, Prof. Suth-
erland of Harvard was asked
by Rep. John w. Mccormack
for his judgment on this mat
ter. After studying the mat
ter with great care, Prof.
Sutherland reaches the con-
clusion that there is no clear
constitutional ton
against such aid.
ASSUMING G." HE CON
cLuDES, shat the existing
Federal aid to education is
constitutional - which seems
to me a reasonable assump-
tion-the distinction between
these existing programs and
the proposal which l discuss
is not sufficiently evident to
persuade me that a measure
providing for long-term loans
of the character which I have
described, to aid education in
basic lay subjects, would con-
flict with the provisions of
the First Amendment"
What does Or. Robert M.
: HutehinS say on fhi$ Point7
The president of the Cen
ter for the Study of Demo
cratic Institutions and the
former chancellor Of the Uni
versity of Chicago and dean
of the Yale University Law
School pointed out that tax
exemption is given private
schools because they are per-
forming a public service, IF
they are" he said, land if
this is a service that would
otherwise have to be perform
ed by the public, then there
is no reason why private or
CARNATIONS should not receive
appropriate assistance from
the government"
OBJECTIONS RAISED
against including such schools
in the Federal program of aid
to education, he ckaracteriz-
ed as incompetent, irrelevant
and immaterial." He cited the
CT. Bill that gave thousands
of service men Federal funds
to attend the college of their
choice, public or private.
Have other noted aUtheri-
flies expressed similar opin'
ions?
Yes, hundreds have. Ex-
ample: TWenty-one prominent
iurists, including former At
torney General James p. Nc
Granery, were requested to
prepare an opinion on this
subject. After painstaking
study, they reached the UNI
animous conclusion that there
is nothing in the Constitution
which prevents public funds
from being used to pay for
the public service rendered
by nonprofit schools in teach
ing pupils all the secular
subjects taught in the public
school.
"oNcE CONGRESS DE-
cIDES that Federal aid is
necessary" they say, "there
should be full equality of
treatment with respect to all
children whether they be en-
rolled in public, private, or
church-related schools. This is
a matter of high principle.
The parochial schools of this
country are discharging a
public service. They provide
an educational program which
fully satisfies present govern
mental standards for COM
petence.
1.-THE state and all the cltl-
gems thereof benefit from this
educational effort. If massive
Federal expenditures are to
be made from the tax collec-
tons of all the people, this
aid should not go only to a
select segment, however large,
of the population. To the ex-
tent that parochial schools
provide a recognized and ac-
credited secular education
they are entitled to equal
treatment"
Did not The First Amend
Vrnenf erect q wall Of SePara-
ZION. high and impenefrabIe.
between Church and State?
Yes, but not in all respects.
In the Zorach case Justice
Douglas said: "The First
Amendment, however, does
not say that in every and all
- 4ho~n Sho1 ho = coma