AURIESVILLE Shrine declines county’s grant Organizers say mission religious, not secular BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
The Roman Catholic shrine in Auriesville has turned down a tourism grant from the county, saying acceptance would compromise its religious mission. The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors awarded $750 to the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in February. The grant came with the stipulation that it be used only for secular activities. Beth Lynch, the shrine’s museum manager and event coordinator, said the stipulation is contrary to the organization’s purpose. “We are not a secular entity. We are a prominent, visible, deeply Catholic presence here. That is who we are,” she said. “We are very happy to contribute to the community and some of the offshoot is that we contribute to tourism, but that can’t detract from our mission as a Catholic outreach and entity.” Lynch said the shrine would have used the grant money “for a variety of options and to pay whatever we would include in our celebration.” She said the shrine was encouraged to apply for the grant and that it did so with the idea of using the money from the Local Tourism Grant Program to support the Oct. 21 canonization of Kateri Tekakwitha, who will become the first Native American saint. Lynch said details of the celebration are still be planned, but that it will center around a day-long Mass. “The focus will be the Mass of Celebration. The canonization will occur in Rome, Italy, that day,” she said. She said afterward, the shrine got a letter from the county stating it must use the mon- ey for secular purposes. She did not have a date for the letter. Earlier this month, Amsterdam City Supervisor Jeff Stark drafted a resolution that stated the grant had to be used for secular purposes during a committee meeting. The full board is scheduled to vote on the measure next week. Shayne Walters, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, said he was disappointed to hear the shrine had turned down the grant. “It was not that much money and the interesting thing about it is if you go into their store, you pay sales tax on every item you buy. They are paying sales tax and we are receiving a benefit from it,” he said. Walters said the $750 grant will be redirected to a renaissance festival to be held in the city of Amsterdam. The grant award generated a letter in late March from the Washington-based nonprofi t Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The group, founded in 1947, said the grant violated the U.S. Constitution and demanded the county rescind it. Walters responded at the time by telling the group to “Go fly a kite.” Alex Luchenitser, associate legal director for the nonprofit group, on Friday said, “We are pleased with this development. This is another reason why government money should not be given to religious purposes. This grant was intended to support a religious event, so there is no way the grant could have been used in a secular manner.” Walters on Friday continued to defend the grant to the shrine. “I will make it clear. It was only one person in Montgomery County who made a complaint. I have gotten email and calls and people stopping by my house offering support of the county for giving the shrine money,” he said. “The majority of this county thought it was right thing to do. He said the idea behind the grant was to support tourism, not a religious group, and that he would support awarding a grant to any religious group that generates the number of tourists and sales tax that the shrine generates annually. “Any group that is looking for tourism money, which is paid for through the bed tax, for tourism purposes, I would support,” he said. ....................>>>>.....................>>>>....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00902&AppName=1
Exactly... AURIESVILLE Shrine is a private Religious group... why would US Taxpayers give them one dime?
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Exactly... AURIESVILLE Shrine is a private Religious group... why would US Taxpayers give them one dime?
This would be Montgomery County taxpayers that would have been giving them the money, not the entire US, and the county can make that determination, if they wish. The people who run the shrine decided they wouldn't / couldn't use the money the way that it was specified, so I think it was good for them to refuse it. It helps to show that they won't bend their morals. Ironically, I don't think you would find ANYONE in Schenectady County who would say "no thanks" to any type of government handout. That's why we have the Metroplex.
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