No, tuition assistance does not violate 1st Amendment

Three opinion pieces in The Gazette within two days have all claimed that Iowa’s tuition assistance program violates the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment.

Zelman v Simmons-Harris (2002), Espinosa v Montana (2020), and Carson v Makin (2021) were all decided in favor of allowing tuition assistance to students in religiously-affiliated schools. Constantly repeating a false claim does not make it true.

More concerning, Norman Sherman’s opinion piece inaccurately describes Catholic Church teaching. No, the Church does not teach that Jews are the anti-Christ. Catholics are taught that the Jewish people were the first to hear the word of God. Jesus was raised in the Jewish faith, and Christianity has its roots in Judaism. At Good Friday services, prayers are specifically offered for the Jewish people, for those of other faiths, and for those of no faith. Catholic school students are not taught to hate Jews or anyone else.

Haven’t we enough divisions in our culture without spreading inaccurate and inflammatory rhetoric? As our Catholic president would say, “Come on, man.”

Mike Streb

Iowa City