New York panel tells it like it is ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) - Saying that Catholic schools are an asset, a panel appointed by New York state's commissioner of education has recommended that income tax credits be enacted to help ensure continuation of the state's Catholic s'ehools. "The Catholic schools are an asset to New York state, both in relieving the fiscal burden of 280,000 students that may otherwise be the responsibility of public schools, and in their ability to educate poor, minority and at-risk students," said tbe 78-page report prepared by the nine-member Blue Ribbon Panel on Catholic Schools. "U nless these schools are assisted in meeting their financial crisis, the state risks losing this asset," it added. The panel; chaired by former New York Gov. Hugh Carey, also recommended' that legislation be passed to allow non public schools to participate in state-funded initiatives in learning tt;.chnology. Appointed last October by Thomas Sobol, state education commissioner, the panel was charged with examining "the current condition of Catholic school education in New York State" and asked to formulate recommendations "on creative ways to help stabilize enrollment or reverse the current pattern of Catholic school closings while ensuring that the quality of the education ... is maintained." During the past 20 years, enrollment in Catholic schools has declined statewide by more than 57 percent, almost twice the rate of the decrease in public school enrollment. . ,.... While the panel was asked to find solutions, it was specifically excluded from studying public funding of nonpublic schools. Nevertheless, in its main recommendation, it said that "legislation should b~ enacted which would provide state income tax credits (I) for tuition and education-related expenses for one's own children and (2) for donations to schools, programs and scholarship funds for the benefit of other children." As proposed, the credits would apply to children in public as well as nonpublic schools and would have a maximum amount of$1 ,000 on ajoint or individual tax return. The credit would apply only on joint returns with adjusted gross income not exceeding $55.000 and individual returns of no more than $30,000. "To encourage the support of business and industry," the panl:J added that the legislation should also "provide for a tax credit for contributions" made by corporations toward non public education. The panel also recommended new initiatives in school-based technologies such as interactive media. CD-ROM computer technology, educational TV and telecommunications. Any such efforts should be shared equally by public and nonpublic schools, the panel said. The report included statistical information refuting the myth that Catholic school students often perform better on standardized tests and are more likely to attend college because they are handselected. In fact. the panel found, children with multiple risk factors such as poverty, single-parent households and siblings who have dropped out of school make up
THE MASSACHUSETTS Hospital Association has elected Robert E. Flynn, MD? Dedham, who·is president of Caritas Christ~, the health care system ofthe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, as chairman of its board of trustees. St. Anne's Hospital, Fall River, is a member of Caritas Christi. All other member institutions are within the Boston archdiocese. Flynn was instrumental in organizing Caritas Christi, one of New England's largest health care providers, in 1985. He has been its president ever since. He has been part of the Boston health care scene for nearly four decades, dedicating himself to patient care, medical education and the. deyel'opment of Catholic health care in-New England. Founded in 1936, the Massachusetts Hospital Association is a not-for-profit organization that represents the collective interests of acute and specialty hospitals in Massachusetts. The 28-membel' board -sets policies and priorities for the association. During his career, Flynn has been most associated with St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston. He was a staff physician there for more than 30 years and served in numerous other administrative and
teaching positions. He was also for nine years clinical director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, a center fof research and training in mental retardation. ' He is an eight-time recipient of the Tufts University School of Medicine Faculty Teaching Award and in 1981 was named a knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The Caritas Christi system comprises 1,400 beds, 1,600 physicians and 4,500 employ.ees. It includes acute, chronic care and rehabilitation hospitals, hospice and residential treatment programs for pregnant and parenting women, .offers community health care services and specialty medicine, provides medical education and pursues medical research. It was founded in 1985 by Boston Cardinal Bernard Law. (Vintoniv photo)
THE ANCHOR -
Diocese of Fall River -
Fri., June 25, 1993
3
Cape resident graduates Erin D. McCarthy of Harwich Port was among 41 students receiving bachelor of arts degrees June 12 at Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA. It was the largest class to have yet graduated from the college, founded in 1971. As part of her graduation requin:-
ments, Miss McCarthy presented as her senior thesis "Whether Perfect Friendship Cam Exist Between Unequals through Christ."
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"Courage" to meet NEW YORK (CNS) - Courage, a spiritual support group for Catholic homosexuals and lesbians wanting to live in accord with .church teaching, will hold its fifth annual conference Aug. 19-22 at Cardinal Spellma!l.Retreat House in the Bronx. N.Y. Speakers will include Father Benedict Groeschel, director of spiritual development for the Archdiocese-of New York, on "Dealing with Misunderstanding: Spiritual and Psychological Ways of Developing a Thick Skin," and Paulist Father James Lloyd, a counselor at lona College in New Rochelle, N.Y., on "Brokenness: Steps to Holiness."
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approximately the same proportion of Catholic as of public school students. The panel declared that Catholic schools are "an educational asset for New York state, especially in urban areas a.nd for minority populations." The average per-pupil cost for students in New York state public elementary and high schools is $7,845. The average cost for students in Catholic schools in the New York archdiocese is $1,364 for elementary schools and $2,925 for high schools.
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Notice The canonization of Religious of Jesus and Mary foundress Claudine Thevenet, recorded March 21 in Rome, will be shown on EWTN cable at 10 p.m. July 3 and noon July 4.
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