Eileen O'Connor: Bush's faith-based initiative

Eileen O’Connor is a CNN correspondent based in Washington, D.C.

Q: Why is Bush calling upon faith-based groups instead of government programs? Has this caused criticism?

O’Connor: President Bush says he is not planning to replace government programs, which is one of the concerns of some faith-based groups. These groups say that it’s fine for them to get additional funding to do additional work, but if government is going to give them funding while taking away funding from a government-run social program, then this initiative will not work. These groups say that they are necessary because the government already doesn’t do it all.

One of the concerns is that in turning to faith-based organizations, President Bush is going to replace government programs, or in effect give with the right hand and take away with the left. For instance, the government may give money to Catholic Social Services for foster care programs while reducing the amount of funding for such programs run by government agencies.

Even Catholic charities will tell you that if this happens, the initiative is not going to work. President Bush has said today that he will not do this.

President Bush says that he is not replacing government programs. He says that social programs run by faith-based organizations are often successful because they are in the community. Many of these organizations make that same argument. These groups say they know the people in the community and have a network of relationships in the community. Their hands are not restrained as much by government regulation.

Some believe that because they come with a message, they have an effectiveness rate. In some cases, it is proven by studies that they can be more effective as with recidivism in drug treatment programs. President Bush says that if they are effective, why not turn to them.

	MESSAGE BOARDS
The Bush presidency Church and state

Q: Bush announced that he is creating a new office of faith-based and community initiatives. What is the process of creating such an office and might he be met with obstacles?

O’Connor: He wants to create this office find various faith-based programs that work and then channel government money to them. They are talking about tens of billions of dollars going to these programs.

The critics say that this office is in direct contradiction to a basic constitutional principle: that church and state should be separate, and that public money should not be used to fund programs of religious faiths.

Q: Some critics have said that the move to call upon faith-based organization for community service and the offer to allow these organizations to compete for funding could soften the line between church and state. How is Bush trying to avoid these criticisms?

O’Connor: First of all, he has appointed men of different faiths to head up these programs up. There is one office in the White House and another one that is going to be a liaison with various agencies around the country. He has two people of different faiths heading up the programs who report to him.

He has also expanded the program to community-based programs in a further effort to deflect that criticism. But, he makes no apologies for the fact that he believes money should go to these programs, and that their religious missions should not be compromised. For instance, it is the president’s opinion that if a drug-counseling program relies on the teaching of Christ to instill in people the desire to remain clean, that’s fine. And that is where critics say they don’t believe that it is possible to keep church and state separate while funding these kinds of program.

The president’s office says that government would not be funding churches, it would not be funding a church to teach its ministry. Instead, the funding would be for a church’s social programs. Critics say there cannot be church-state separation when the teachings of these churches find their way into the social programs funded by taxpayer money.

Q: What do we know about John J. Dilulio, Jr., who will be heading the new office, and Mayor Stephen Goldsmith who will chair a new advisory board?

O’Connor: Stephen Goldsmith is a long-time adviser of George Bush. He is a former mayor of Indianapolis, and used faith-based programs a lot. He had a practice of promoting them in the community.

Dilulio is a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania and is an advocate of faith-based organizations. He has done studies of these organizations to determine why they are effective.

Both men have some experience with faith-based organizations, they have connections in the faith-based program community, and they believe these programs are effective.

Q: Do you have any final thoughts to share with us?

O’Connor: Critics say that politically, this initiative is an answer to the Religious Right. In addition, there is also school vouchers which could also be used for religious schools and reinstatement of the so-called global gag order which withholds money from overseas organizations that offer abortion counseling or services. Critics say these are all payback to those groups which helped him get elected.

Also, be aware that there is concern about this initiative among faith-based organizations.

Some faith-based programs do not offer any religious instructions at all, but only social services. On the other hand, Catholic Social Services does worry about some counseling programs that do apply religious teachings. They will not apply for government funding for these programs because they are concerned that the money will come with government strings.

They are also concerned that they will begin to rely on the government funding, take in a certain number of people, then the government will cut its funding. As a religious organization, Catholic Social Services just can’t just turn out these people. Government funding is not always stable, and they are concerned about that.

So, there are criticisms and concerns even among faith-based organizations. They accept that there are problems with this initiative.