Part of Kennedy's Ongoing War Against the Church

Culture & Cosmos also reports that a prominent Church prelate said he was furious that aid to private schools had been kept out of the package and he was especially angry that it is being blocked by "four Irish Catholic Senators."

The proposal for financial aid came from the Bush administration and the Department of Education and noted that, "Communities in Louisiana significantly impacted by the hurricane had an above average number of children enrolled in private schools-- 61,000 students in private schools compared to 187,000 in public schools in four severely impacted parishes. These significantly impacted Louisiana communities averaged 25 percent of students attending private K-12 schools-- much higher than the 11% national average of private school students."

Out of the 61,000 students in private schools, 81 percent, or 50,000 attend Catholic schools. In fact, New Orleans public schools have long had a reputation for poor quality and the Catholic school system there is seen as an affordable refuge.

Senator Kennedy publicly criticized aid for private schools yesterday in a statement, saying: "This is not the time for a partisan political debate on vouchers." Despite the high percentage of New Orleans students who attend private school, Kennedy said that "we need to focus on rebuilding the public school systems which are the cornerstones of the Gulf Coast communities and economies."

Open Book.