CULTURAL REVOLUTIONSrnPRESIDENT BUSH wants to do forrnchurches and Cliristian charities whatrnthe Department of Education has donernfor pubUc schools; Attach them so firmlyrnto the teat of big government that itrnwould be impossible to unlatch themrnwithout financialh’ crippling them. Thernfunny thing is, this does not appear to berna concern for most Catholics, evangelicals,rnand mainline Protestants, as long asrnthey get their money.rnBush inaugurated his Office of Faith-rnBased Initiahves in Januan’ 2001, shortlyrnafter taking office. “We will help all inrntheir work to change hearts,” he said,rn”while keeping a commitment to pluralism.”rnCarefully sidestepping the concernsrnof ACLU watchdogs who fearedrnthat this inihahve amounted to a federalrnestablishment of religion, the Prcsidenfsrnstaff stipulated that the funding wouldrnHAS CHRONICLESrnDISAPPEARED FROMrnYOUR LOCAL NEWSSTAND?rnWe’re currently switchingrndistributors, and we wantrnto make sure thatrnChroniclesrnis carried by newsstandsrnand bookstores allrnacross the country.rnPlease send ttie name, address, andrnphione number of any potentialrnretailers in your town to: Cindy LinkrnCirculation ManagerrnChroniclesrn928 N. Main St.rnRockford, IL 61103rnSubscriptions@ChroniclesMagazine.orgrnEvery month, we will draw thernname of one reader who hasrnsent us the name of a store.rnThe lucky winner will receiverna free one-year extension tornhis subscription.rnonly proide assistance for the charitablernfunchons of faith-based ministries, suchrnas drug-addichon programs. “It can fundrnthe soup,” said former Indianapolis MayorrnSteve Goldsmith, and “it can fund thernshelter. It shouldn’t fund the Bibles, andrnI think if we maintain that division, we’llrnbe in the right place.” Goldsmith hasrnbeen selected to head the wildly successfulrnAmcriCorps oluntecr program (partrnof Bill Clinton’s legacy), which will nowrnalso network with faith-based charities.rnPresident Bush appointed John Dilulio,rn”a devout Roman Catholic,” to bernhis faith czar, and Dilulio immediatelyrnbegan meeting with the leadership ofrnsuch groups as Catholic Charities,rnLutheran Social Ministries, and the SalvationrnArmv. After meeting with Diluliornin D.C.. Fred Kammer, S.)., president ofrnCatholic Charities USA, was upset notrnthat government regulations might bernimposed on groups receiving federalrnfunds, but that the Bush tax cut might unduernany good done by the proposedrn”$700 million compassionate capitalrnfund.”rnThe Salvation Army, on the otherrnhand, issued a memorandum on May 1rnto Dilulio —complete with language urgingrnhim to “minimize the possibilit)’ ofrnany ‘leak’ to the media.” The memo requestedrnthat—in exchange for annualrnp.r. support in the amoimt of $110,000rnand the lobbying of “more than 100 divisionalrncommand members to Congressionalrnoffices, encouraging support forrnthe charitable choice provisions in a prearrangedrnagreement with the WhiternHouse” —the President’s team offer thernSalvation Armv a “firm commitment”rnthat, by executive order or federal regulation,rnWashington would override staternand local governments’ attempts to forcernthe church to hire homosexuals. It tookrntwo whole monriis for some deep throatrnto squeal to the Washington Post, but afterrnthe story ran in early July, the Whiternttouse issued its usual affirm/deny response.rnFor evangelicals and Catholicsrnfar and wide, this was a icton-, and theyrnlauded the Arm’ for initiating this protectivernprovision. (Never mind that it feedsrnyet another growth spurt in the federalrnleviathan.) But one bad tuni apparentiyrndcsen-es another.rnThe Bush plan’s legislative counterpart,rnthe “Connnunity Solutions Act”rn(H.R. 7), introduced by Rep. J.C. Wattsrn(R-OK), passed through the Ways andrnMeans Committee by a 23 to 16 partylinernvote and went to the full House forrndebate in mid-July. At that time, H.R. 7rncontained the same stipidations that thernSalvation Army recjuested from Diluliornand President Bush.rnWliether by Congress or through an executivernorder, some form of Bush’s faithbasedrninitiative will pass, and it will havernseveral effects on its potential victims:rnFirst, it will cause churches and Christianrncharities who follow the vellow-brick roadrnto marginalize the truly Christian aspectsrnof their ministries—the administiation ofrnWord and Sacrament—and bur) them inrnred tape. Second, it will allow these organizationsrn—especially die ones hurting forrnmone — to become fnlK’ dependent uponrnfederal aid. And third, it will open therndoor for President Gephart, Daschle, orrnMcCain to exploit this new dependencyrnby eliminating anything distinctiy Christianrnin these well-funded churches andrncharities (see, once again, the Deparhnentrnof Education). Churches will bend overrnbackward to keep the gravy train rolling.rnThe Salvation .rmy is already doing it. Afterrntheir memo to Dilulio was leaked tornthe Post, they issued a press release statingrnthat, “among our 45,000 emplovees in thernUSA, there are people of all races, religionsrnand sexual orientiition. . . . In practice,rnwe consistently seek competent individualsrnwho believe in our mission tornserve.” And serve, tiiev will—all of them.rn-Aaron D. WolfrnPRESIDENT BUSH, many of us believed,rnwas preparing to appoint a set ofrnjurists committed to tiie rrde of law to thernfederal bench, but this has been thrownrninto doubt by Senator Jeffords leaving thernRepublican parh’. One of the immediaternresults of that move, which threw committeerncontrol of the Senate to the Democrats,rnwas a set of hearings presidedrnover by New York’s senior senator. DemocratrnCharles Schumer, on what herncalled “ideolog” and its role in judicialrnselection.rnOrthodox legal thinkers bclie’e thatrnideology plays no role in judicial selection,rnbecause the only criteria that shouldrnbe considered when selecting judges arerntheir character, tiieir knowledge of law,rnand tiieir commitment to deciding casesrn6/CHRONICLESrnrnrn