A HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK STATE CATHOLIC CONFERENCE 1916 – 1968 Spring 2007 A HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK STATE CATHOLIC CONFERENCE 1916 – 1968 P R E F A C E In recent years, more attention has been given to a well-kept secret within the Catholic Church and society more generally – the important role played by State Catholic Conferences of Bishops in influencing public policy in this country. While a common perception among those aware of the existence of State Catholic Conferences is that the major focus of the activity of the Catholic Conferences has been on abortion and other life issues, this perception distorts the picture of actual State Catholic Conference activities. While there has been appropriate attention to life issues, State Catholic Conferences have also focused on a variety of issues relating to an important principle of Catholic Social Teaching – the preferential option for the poor. State Catholic Conferences have had significant input on public policy debates on such issues as welfare-to-work programs, access to health care, immigration legislation, criminal justice reform and the like. As the first State Catholic Conference organized in the United States, the New York State Catholic Conference has played a pivotal role, not only in its considerable influence in the evolution of public policy in New York State, but also in serving as a model for the creation of other State Catholic Conferences in the country. This volume is the first in a series of documents chronicling the history of the New York State Catholic Conference. This volume describes the public policy advocacy activities of the Catholic Church in the state from its first organized activities in 1916 until the state Bishops formally created a State Catholic Conference in 1968. As government and public policy decisions became more complex, the New York State Catholic Conference established various constituent groups to focus on particular specialized areas, and the history of the Conference since 1968 is told through description of the work of these constituent groups. Already written are histories of these constituent groups: • A History of the State Council of Catholic Charities Directors 1966-2006 • A History of the Catholic Church and Health Care Public Policy in New York State 1924-2004 • A History of the Advisory Committees to the State Catholic Conference Public Policy Committee 1973-2004 Also in the development stage are histories of the State Council of Catholic School Superintendents and of the State Council of Human Life Coordinators. In writing this volume, I wish to acknowledge and express gratitude to the following three authors. For almost all of the content in the contemplated six volumes in this series, I have relied on the internal files of the State Catholic Conference. A History of the NYS Catholic Conference Preface For this work, particularly in the introduction which traces the evolution of public welfare in New York State, I have relied heavily on two books: • A two volume History of Public Welfare in New York State 1609-1940 , written by David Schneider and Alfred Deutsch • The Poor Belong to us: Catholic Charities and American Welfare , written by Georgetown Professors Dorothy M. Brown and Elizabeth McKeown For the conclusion, relating to the formal establishment of State Catholic Conferences in the late 1960’s, I have borrowed from the work of David Yamani, who in 2005 wrote The Catholic Church in State Politics: Negotiating Prophetic Demands and Political Realities . As with each of the volumes written to date, I express profound thanks to three persons without whom this work would not have been possible: Walter Wojtowicz and Earl Eichelberger from the New York State Catholic Conference, and JoAnn Anderson, my incomparable Administrative Assistant. Jack Balinsky Rochester, NY Spring 2007 2 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE 9 THE STATE COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES DIRECTORS 1916-1930 A. INTRODUCTION 9 B. SUMMARY OF MEETINGS 9 December 1917 Meeting 9 October 25, 1921 Meeting 11 December 12, 1921 Meeting 12 January 6, 1922 Meeting 13 December 6, 1923 Meeting 13 December 12, 1924 Meeting 13 March 9, 1926 Meeting 14 March 1, 1928 Meeting 14 December 11, 1929 14 February 26, 1930 Meeting 15 C. CONCLUSION 15 CHAPTER TWO 16 THE NEW YORK STATE CATHOLIC WELFARE COMMITTEE 1931-1940 A. INTRODUCTION 16 B. MEMBERSHIP 16 C. PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY 17 1. 1938 Constitutional Convention 17 2. Public Welfare Law and State Charities Law 20 3. Care of Dependent Children 21 4. Labor Issues 21 5. Education Issues 22 6. Criminal Justice Issues 23 7. Healthcare Issues 23 8. Issues Relating to Fundamental Moral Values 23 9. Federal Issues 24 D. CONCLUSION 24 CHAPTER THREE 25 THE WAR AND EVOLUTION OF GOVERNMENT 1941-1949 A. INTRODUCTION 25 B. LEADERSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP 26 C. PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY 27 1. Introduction 27 2. The War 27 3. Federal Issues ` 28 4. Social Welfare Issues 30 i Table of Contents 5. Children and Youth Issues 32 a. Dependent Child Care 32 b. Child Day Care 33 c. Juvenile Justice Issues 33 6. Elementary and Secondary Education Issues 34 a. Funding Issues 34 b. Released Time Programs 35 c. School Bus Transportation Issues 35 d. Education for Mentally and Physically 36 Handicapped Children 7. Labor Issues 37 8. Issues Relating to Fundamental Moral Values 38 a. Abortion and Birth Control 38 b. Pornography and Sex Education 38 c. Marriage Issues 39 9. Healthcare Issues 39 a. External Advocacy 39 b. Internal Provision of Advice and Information 40 10. Chaplaincy Issues 41 11. Higher Education Issues 41 12. Other Public Policy Issues 43 D. CONCLUSION 43 CHAPTER FOUR 46 FOCUS ON TRADITIONAL VALUES 1950-1958 A. INTRODUCTION 46 B. LEADERSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP 47 1. Leadership 47 2. Membership 48 3. Evolution of Constituent Subgroups 50 C. PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY 51 1. Introduction 51 2. Federal Issues 52 3. Social Welfare Issues 54 4. Children and Youth Issues 56 a. Dependent Child Care and Adoption 56 b. Juvenile Justice Issues 58 c. Public Funding and Private Agencies 60 5. Elementary and Secondary Education Issues 61 a. Funding (particularly for health services) 61 b. Released Time Issues 61 c. School Bus Transportation Issues 62 d. Curriculum Issues 62 e. Other Matters of Concern 63 6. Higher Education Issues 64 a. Relationship to State University System 64 b. Advocacy for Additional Educational Opportunities 64 c. Developments within Catholic Colleges 65 ii Table of Contents 7. Issues Relating to Fundamental Moral Values 66 a. Abortion and Birth Control 66 b. Pornography and Sex Education 67 c. Marriage and Divorce Issues 67 d. Educational Television 68 e. Gambling: Bingo 68 f. Sunday Observance Laws 68 8. Healthcare Issues 69 9. Chaplaincy Issues 70 10. Issues of Aging 71 11. Issues Relating to Special Needs Populations 72 12. Labor Issues 73 13. Issues of Tax Exemption 75 14. Other Public Policy Issues 75 D. CONCLUSION 76 CHAPTER FIVE 77 TOWARD THE CREATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE CATHOLIC CONFERENCE 1959-1968 A. INTRODUCTION 77 B. LEADERSHIP, MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL EVOLUTION 79 1. Leadership 79 2. Committee Membership 1961 80 3. Organizational Evolution 81 a. The Catholic Welfare Committee 81 b. The Evolution of Constituent Groups 82 Conference of Catholic Colleges 82 Bishops’ Hospital Representatives 83 Council of Catholic Charities Directors 85 Council of Catholic School Superintendents 87 Other Committees 88 4. Diocesan Participation in Committee Activities 89 C. PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY 89 1. Introduction 89 2. Constitutional Issues 90 a. Early Constitutional Amendments 90 b. Repeal of the Blaine Amendment 91 c. The 1967 State Constitutional Convention 91 3. Social Welfare Issues 98 a. Government Structure/State Board of Social Welfare 98 b. Public Assistance 100 c. Child Welfare Issues 101 • Children’s Institutions and Foster Care Regulations 101 • Religious Protection 101 • Child Welfare Services Funding 102 • Day Care 103 • Juvenile Justice 103 iii Table of Contents • Boarding Homes/Group Homes 104 • Youth Council – Division for Youth Program 104 • Adoptions 104 • Joint Legislative Committee on Child Care Needs 105 d. Personnel Issues 106 e. Office of Economic Opportunity/Community Development 106 f. The Creation of the State Council of Catholic Charities Directors 107 4. Elementary and Secondary Education Issues 107 a. Released Time Education 108 b. School Bus Transportation 108 c. Prayer in Schools 109 d. State Aid for Non-Public Schools 110 e. Federal Aid for Non-Public Schools 111 f. Administrative Relationships with the State Department of Education 113 g. Governance of Catholic Schools 114 5. Higher Education Issues 114 a. Scholarship Issues 114 b. Higher Education Planning and Funding 115 c. The Bundy Report 116 6. Healthcare Issues 117 a. Metcalf-McCloskey Article 28 Legislation 118 b. Marion Folsom Commission on Cost Control 120 c. Medicare and Medicaid 121 d. Hospital and Nursing Home Loans 122 e. Health Department Regulations: Hospitals, Nursing Homes, 122 Homes for the Aged 7. Issues Relating to Fundamental Moral Values 124 a. Obscenity and Pornography 124 b. Sunday Observance Laws 124 c. Gambling: Off Track Betting, Lottery, Bingo 125 d. Issues of Sexual Morality 125 e. Marriage Issues 125 f. Birth Control 126 g. Abortion 127 h. Capital Punishment 129 8. Chaplaincy Issues 129 9. Labor Issues 130 a. Minimum Wage 130 b. Disability Insurance, Unemployment Insurance and 130 Workman’s Compensation c. Collective Bargaining 131 10. Issues of Aging 132 11. Issues Relating to Special Needs Populations 132 12. Civil Rights Issues 134 13. Tax Exemption Issues 134 D. CONCLUSION 135 CONCLUSION: THE NEW YORK STATE CATHOLIC CONFERENCE OF 136 BISHOPS iv Table of Contents APPENDICES: I. DIOCESAN BISHOPS IN NEW YORK STATE DIOCESAN INCEPTION PRESENT II. DIOCESAN CATHOLIC CHARITIES DIRECTORS III.