Like the good Samaritan parable, churches and faith-based institutions have long helped the poor, the hungry, the destitute and the desparate.

Tuesday, February 06, 2001

Like the good Samaritan parable, churches and faith-based institutions have long helped the poor, the hungry, the destitute and the desparate.

These institutions often pour their own financial resources into the work they do. Others have fund-raisers or seek grants. For most, it’s a combination.

Under a new proposal from President George W. Bush, these faith-based institutions would be able to receive federal funding.

Groups like Catholic Charities USA and Lutheran Brotherhood Social Services would see greater funding and be able to help more people with less burden to the organization itself.

Though some argue such a move would threaten the seperation between church and state, the private organizations that provide services to Americans should receive some of the funding that public organizations get.

Because many faith-based institutions work in concert with public organizations to provide services, they ought to be entitled to some of the same government funding.