ACLU suit challenges funding of chaplains
The present system of funding
chaplains in Oregon state institu
tions "is a clear violation of the
Oregon constitution,” Stevie Re
mington, American Civil Liberties
Union’s (ACLU) executive direc
tor, said recently.
The ACLU has filed suit chal
By IAN THOMPSON
Of the Emerald
—
lenging state funding of chaplains
who work in state institutions, say
ing it is a constitutional violation to
use state funds for religious pur
poses.
Remington, in a press release,
said “The state has an affirmative
obligation to afford inmates and
patients of its institutions an op
portunity to worship in accor
diance with their religious beliefs
and to receive spiritual counseling
from ministers of their faiths. But
the Oregon constitution requires
that the costs of providing the ser
vices must be borne by the religi
ous communities involved .”
The suit refers to a law signed in
1913 requiring the provision at all
state mental health and correc
tional institutions of “adequate
chaplaincy sen/ices, including but
not limited to Protestant and
Roman Catholic.”
At present the state spends ap
proximately $500,000 each bien
nium on chaplaincy services. The
state currently employs 12 chap
tains and has 13 positions in state
institutions scattered across the
state, including the State Peniten
tiary in Salem, Fairview Mental
Hospital and the different state
hospitals. Each has a Protestant
and Roman Catholic chaplain.
Remington stated that with the
Department of Human Resources
selecting the chaplains, the state
chooses the prominent faith to be
represented. “The chaplains
should not be responsible, not to
the state nor to the heads of the
institution, but to their own
church,” Remington said.
State reaction to the suit has
been of almost immediate opposi
tion. Gov. Bob Straub says “The
program has been very success
ful and I am in favor of continuing
it.” He adds that he will “vigor
ously contest" the lawsuit.
Straub also says the state can't
and shouldn’t support all of the re
ligious representatives. The smal
ler, religious organizations, he
says, have the right to send in
representatives to administer
people in the state institutions.
The chaplains who work at the
state institutions do not see the
state control of funding as a threat
to their work, but as a necessary
source of revenue with which to
continue their work. Jesuit Father
Frank Callan, who works at the
Oregon State Hospital, considers
private funding impractical. He
notes that it would be too difficult
to get the many churches together
to fund one or two ministers for
the state institutions.
“About 70 percent of the people
I serve are not of my faith,” says
Father Callan who runs non
denominational services. “Be
sides, they can’t pay 75 to 80 cha
plains to work."
Callan views the lawsuit as a
“very delicate thing," saying there
is too much concentration on the
relationship between church and
state. “It’s to give a service to
people who have the right to ex
ersize the First Amendment,” Cal
lan said.
Callan notes there is no real ad
vantage of any one religion, cal
ling the job “universal.”
“This is a necessary place
where we can’t separate church
and state, for here is where church
and state go together as one to
serve the people." says Callan.
State Treasurer Clay Meyers,
one of the defendants named in
the suit, says that although the
lawsuit does raise a serious con
stitutional question on the separa
tion of church and state, the situa
tion in Oregon “is a unique rela
tionship in this instance.!'
If the ACLU does succeed in its
lawsuit, the state would have four
possible alternatives to the pres
Jerry Rust—
(Continued from Page 8)
five member board, since the
commission will now be elected
on a district basis rather than at
large.
We make county ordinances,”
emphasizes Rust, “not district
ones. I fear for some parochialism
to get into the decision-making
process,”
However, he is glad that the
three areas will be getting greater
representation.
“Five members is going to be
healthy. It will help share the load
and bring in more viewpoints.”
In the meantime Rust is content
with his $26,000 a year job of shar
ing responsibility for an annual
$100 million county budget. How
ever, he is not sure whether he will
run for re-election whenhis term is
up in three years.
"I like the job a lot,” says Rust,
“but I’d have to consider what I’d
have to contribute three years
from now.”
Rust discerns that certain is
sues will be of prime interest to
the county in 1978, including de
velopment of an energy plan at the
local level, consideration of the
T-2000 master transportation plan
for Lane county, investigation into
water quality in terms of sewer
management and the possibility of
implementing composting toilets,
and the final phase of land-use
planning.
Rust is particularly concerned
with creating greater visibility and
public accessibility for the 1990
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plan, which is a blueprint for the
county's future development,
' The 1990 plan bas been buried
under some rocks,” says Rust. “It
has no meaning, people are un
sure why we have the plan, the
plot process is unclear and people
feel they cannot influence policy
direction.”
‘‘It is crucial to develop in
teragency cooperation. It is vital
that cities, counties, state agen
ties, the forest service, the Uni
versity, Lane Community College,
EWEB and all local bodies be
aware they are not separate from
each other.”
In essence, Rust sees the func
tion of county government, as play
ing an intergral part with all other
components of government.
‘‘We are shepards of the
public's trust, purse and policy.
Red tape mustn’t eat us up.”
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ent system, according to Meyers.
One would be voluntary funding
from private sources, but with
several hundred religious groups
in the country, Meyers says that
would create a “tower of Babel
situation.”
The other alternatives include a
State constitutional amendment to
allow the state to continue funding
chaplains, federal aid to continue
funding or a shutdown of the prog
ram.
Meyers says the last alternative
would deny people in the institu
tions religious freedom, and that
would be totally unacceptable to
him.
Beside filing the suit on Jan. 5,
the ACLU also seeks an injunction
against the payment of the chap
lains from public funds.
Motion
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