Americans United, ACLU Challenge Indiana City's Proposed Aid To Religious School
South Bend Funding Of St. Joseph’s High School Unconstitutionally Forces Taxpayers To Support Religion, Says Federal Lawsuit
August 16, 2011
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the ACLU of Indiana and the national ACLU today asked a federal court to block an Indiana city's plan to use public funds in support of a religious school.
The South Bend Common Council voted 5-4 to spend $1.2 million to buy property that will be transferred to the Catholic Diocese of Ft. Wayne-South Bend for $1. The land will be used by St. Joseph's High School to build a football stadium.
Such public funding of a religious school violates the church-state separation provisions of the U.S. and Indiana constitutions, the lawsuit charges.
Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, "Taxpayers should never be forced to support religion. If South Bend council members want to make a million-dollar donation to a religious school, they ought to dig into their own pockets, not those of the taxpayers. This action is just plain wrong."
http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2011/08/americans-united-aclu.html
PDF of legal filing--
http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2011/08/wirtx-v-south-bend-complaint.pdf
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