(RNS) — A West Virginia circuit court judge ruled that the state’s Water Development Authority violated the state constitution when it awarded a $5 million grant to an out-of-state Catholic school, a win for champions of church and state separation.
The judge in Kanawha Circuit Court said on Wednesday (July 9) that the West Virginia Constitution prohibits the use of public funds to support religious education and advocacy. The College of St. Joseph the Worker, a Steubenville, Ohio, Catholic-affiliated trade school, was awarded the funds last year to expand operations into West Virginia. The school trains students in trades, including carpentry, HVAC, plumbing and electrical, but it only confers a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Catholic studies. Its motto reads: “The Word became flesh and picked up a hammer,” a reference to a passage in the Gospel of John.
According to the grant proposal, about $2.1 million of the $5 million grant would create a real estate, development and construction company headquartered in Weirton, West Virginia, where students could learn building trades. But about $1 million would support a think tank called The Center for the Common Good that advocates against abortion. And $1.6 million …