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Voucher backers hail ruling; foes say program drains public schools
Supporters of school vouchers said the Supreme Court’s June 27 ruling upholding Cleveland’s voucher program is a great victory for parental decision-making about their children’s education, while opponents expressed fear that vouchers will siphon resources away from struggling public schools.

The 5-4 ruling said the voucher program is “neutral in regard to religion” and does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Praise locally for voucher ruling
Catholic education leaders in Chicago hailed the U.S Supreme Court’s June 27 ruling that a school voucher program in Cleveland passes constitutional muster.

Nicholas Wolsonovich, superintendent of Catholic schools in the archdiocese, called the decision a “victory for children” that “signals a new era for all private schools.”

Vatican pondering sex-abuse norms
Ten days after the U.S. bishops met in Dallas to debate and approve a national plan to protect children and stop clerical Color sex abuse, the conference president flew to Rome.

Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and a former Chicago auxiliary bishop, and Msgr. William P. Fay, general secretary of the conference, were in Rome June 25-28. The norms passed by U.S. bishops require Vatican approval before becoming binding on all U.S. dioceses.

After Dallas meeting, cardinal looks ahead
In the aftermath of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ landmark decisions on priestly sexual abuse in Dallas, Cardinal George and other church leaders have moved to implement the new charter and norms, and have begun looking ahead.

On June 26, after eight archdiocesan priests were either removed from or resigned from ministry in the preceding 10 days, Cardinal George reflected on what the scandals will mean for the church in a talk at the City Club of Chicago.

AIDS in Africa
South African cardinal preaches help, hope
When Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, South Africa, joined other clergy members in visiting a young mother with AIDS, the first thing he felt was her suspicion.

“I could feel her sense of apprehension,” said Cardinal Napier, on a visit to Chicago with representatives of Catholic Relief Services. “I felt that she was asking herself, ‘What are they going to do, condemn me?’”

The only thing that set the young woman at ease was the presence of the outreach nurse who regularly visited the patient, said Cardinal Napier, president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference. The conference includes South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland.

Preventing HIV, one life at a time
“How do you eat an elephant?” Dr. Elizabeth Musaba asked, citing an African proverb. “One bite at a time!” HIV/AIDS is the “elephant” Musaba referred to. “We are going to defeat the disease bite by bite and save lives one at a time,” she said while visiting Chicago from South Africa with representatives from the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB).

“I saw my first AIDS patient as a young doctor in 1983,” Musaba recalled. “Since then I have seen thousands die of the disease.” After seeing so much suffering, Musaba decided she could best help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS by opening a center to educate women about the disease and the effectiveness of abstinence for prevention. “As doctors, we are often too focused on the curative side and don’t spend enough time on prevention work. I decided to do prevention work, especially for women who don’t have access to education.”

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