Latest news with #StIsidore
Irish Times
15-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Persecution of Irish Catholics led to foundation of Irish Francisan landmark in Rome
This week marks the 400th anniversary of St Isidore's College in Rome as an Irish Franciscan landmark and Ireland's national church in the city. On June 13th 1625, Waterford man and Franciscan priest Fr Luke Wadding signed a contract taking over the building and, during the following week his Irish brother Franciscans moved in. They've been there since. At the time, Catholics faced severe persecution in Ireland leading to a multitude of Irish Colleges emerging across Europe, including St Isidore's, to provide formation for exiled Irish clergy. St Isidore's origins are shared by Ireland with Spain, as reflected in the sculptures of two saints on the building's Rococo facade: St Isidore of Madrid and St Patrick of Ireland. READ MORE It began in 1622 when a group of Spanish discalced Franciscans founded a convent dedicated to the newly canonised Isidore, a farmer and holy man from the 11th century. However, they soon ran into debt and had to abandon their incomplete home, near Piazza Barberini. Fr Wadding, living in Rome at the time, offered to take over St Isidore's on condition he could turn it into a seminary to train Irish Franciscan priests for service in Ireland. In addition to completing the church, he enlarged the building – originally designed to house 12 men – to accommodate 60 friars. Within five years he had paid off debts accumulated by the Spanish, through donations from benefactors which included Pope Urban VIII. Although it retained the name of the Spanish saint from Madrid, Fr Wadding was keen to underline the Irishness of the new college, as evidenced by the frescoes of Ireland's patron saints – Patrick and Bridget – on either side of the entrance to the church, beneath old Irish script from an 8th century text. Restorers from the Italian Ministry of Culture recently discovered that the fresco of St Patrick was initially beardless, in keeping with early iconography of the saint. Current guardian of St Isidore's, Fr Mícheál Mac Craith, said adding the beard was Fr Wadding's way of presenting Patrick to the Vatican 'as an Irish Moses, a patriarchal figure. So, the beard added that necessary gravitas.' A large fresco in the college's Aula Magna depicts scholars at St Isidore's studying in the library, with a long Latin inscription underneath asserting that the Irish nation, destroyed at home by Cromwell, was being recreated in Rome through the scholarship of Irish Franciscan exiles. A recent five-month restoration of the Patrick and Bridget frescoes was completed just in time for St Patrick's Day last March, when the city's Irish community crowded into St Isidore's beautiful church. At Mass that morning, Fr Mac Craith paid tribute to Fr Wadding for his role in founding St Isidore's but also for his crucial part in establishing Ireland's national day in 1631. He noted how 'up to then St Patrick was just a local Irish saint. But Wadding insisted and prevailed on the Vatican to mandate that the feast of St Patrick be celebrated all over the world and not just at home: from Derry to Dubrovnik, from Limerick to Lesotho, from Roscommon to Rwanda.' Fr Mac Craith also pointed out that 'with its verses in Old Irish, St Isidore's is the only church in Rome that uses its vernacular language in its portico. It would seem that when Wadding came here, he wanted to make a very strong statement: `this is an Irish establishment'.' Prof emeritus of Modern Irish at the University of Galway, Fr Mac Craith believes the prominent depictions of Patrick and Bridget also served to make the point that: 'Ireland is a separate kingdom; it has its own saints and its own language: the Irish have come to town.' Fr Wadding can also take credit for St Isidore's church being home to stunning examples of 17th-century Italian art, achieved by hiring the best Roman artists of the day with financial assistance from Spanish patrons. As part of a long-standing tradition, the St Patrick's Day Mass in Rome is presided over each year by the rector of Rome's Irish College, which Fr Wadding founded in 1628 for the training of diocesan priests. He accomplished all of this within a decade of arriving in Rome in 1618, at the age of 30, following studies in Lisbon. His arrival in the Eternal City came about after King Philip III of Spain chose him as theological adviser to a delegation sent to petition Pope Paul V to define the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, that Mary was born without original sin on her soul. The mission failed and the royal delegation returned to Spain, but Fr Wadding stayed on in Rome where he would spend the rest of his life. He also never lost sight of the reason for his original mission and his work would prove fundamental to the eventual definition of the Immaculate Conception as a dogma of the Catholic Church in 1854. Fr Wadding, who served as rector at St Isidore's for 30 years, was also Ireland's first ever accredited ambassador. In 1642, the Confederation of Kilkenny appointed him as their representative in Rome. He died on November 18th 1657, aged 69 and is buried in the crypt at St Isidore's. Andy Devane is editor of the monthly magazine Wanted in Rome. This is an edited version of an article he wrote and published in the magazine to mark the 400th anniversary of the Irish Franciscans at St Isidore's.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Perspective: The St. Isidore stalemate is a missed opportunity in America's education wars
The Supreme Court's 4-4 deadlock in the case of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School represents far more than a procedural hiccup — it's a perfect encapsulation of America's paralysis when it comes to the explosive intersection of religion, education and public funding. By splitting evenly on whether Oklahoma could fund the nation's first religious charter school, the court avoided making hard choices about fundamental constitutional principles. But this non-decision may prove more consequential than any ruling, leaving educators, policymakers and families navigating an increasingly treacherous legal landscape with no clear map. At its core, the St. Isidore case pitted two bedrock constitutional principles against each other in ways that illuminate the broader culture wars consuming American education. The proposed Catholic virtual school sought to operate as a charter school while maintaining an explicitly religious curriculum, complete with Masses, instruction on Catholic doctrine, and the freedom to hire based on religious preference. This wasn't subtle religious influence— it would be unapologetically sectarian education funded by taxpayer dollars. The school's supporters, including the Oklahoma charter school board, framed this as simple equal treatment under law. They pointed to recent Supreme Court victories where the justices ruled that states cannot exclude religious institutions from generally available public benefits solely because of their religious character. If Oklahoma already funds charter schools 'focused on science, engineering, math, fine arts, language immersion, and tribal identity,' they argued, excluding religious institutions amounts to discrimination against people of faith. This argument has gained considerable traction in recent years as conservative legal organizations have systematically challenged what they see as hostility toward religion in public life. The Supreme Court's increasingly religion-friendly approach under its conservative majority has emboldened advocates who view strict church-state separation not as constitutional principle but as anti-religious bias. For them, St. Isidore represented the next logical step: if religious institutions can receive indirect government funding through voucher programs, why not direct funding through charter school contracts? But Oklahoma's Republican attorney general, Gentner Drummond, made an equally compelling case from the opposite direction. Charter schools, he argued, are fundamentally public institutions created by state law, funded with taxpayer dollars, subject to state curriculum standards and required to serve all students regardless of background. They can be shuttered by the state for poor performance, their boards must follow open-meetings laws, and their teachers can join state retirement plans. In Drummond's view, allowing St. Isidore to proceed would create something unprecedented in American law: a government-funded Catholic school operating under direct state contract — a clear violation of the Constitution's prohibition on state-sponsored religion. The case exposed deep fractures not just between religious liberty advocates and church-state separationists, but within the school choice movement itself. Mainstream charter school advocates found themselves opposing St. Isidore, worried that mixing religion with charter schools would change what makes charters work —their identity as public schools that offer alternatives to traditional districts while staying accountable to taxpayers. Justice Amy Coney Barrett's decision not to participate — likely due to her close friendship with a school advisor — created the mathematical possibility for this deadlock, but the 4-4 split reveals something more significant about the court's internal dynamics. Legal experts speculate that Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal justices in opposing the school, despite his authorship of pro-religious liberty opinions in recent years. If true, this suggests that even some conservative justices recognize limits to how far the pendulum should swing toward religious accommodation. The idea that the government must fund religious education represents such a dramatic departure from traditional American church-state relations that it may have pushed too far even for justices generally sympathetic to religious liberty claims. The distinction between allowing religious institutions to participate in neutral government programs and requiring the government to fund explicitly religious instruction may prove to be a bridge too far for the court's swing votes. This deadlock also highlights the complexity of defining public versus private institutions in an era of increasing public-private partnerships. Charter schools exist in a constitutional gray area —publicly funded but privately operated, subject to some state oversight but granted significant autonomy. This ambiguity, which has fueled the charter school movement's explosive growth, becomes deeply problematic when fundamental constitutional principles collide. The broader implications extend well beyond charter schools. The line between public and private becomes increasingly blurred as government partnerships with religious organizations expand across American social policy. During oral arguments, Justice Samuel Alito focused on comments made by Drummond opposing St. Isidore's application, when the attorney general noted that approving the school would mean the board would also have to approve religious charter schools operated by minority religions. Alito suggested this showed 'hostility' to certain faiths, referencing how the court had previously ruled against government officials who showed bias against religious believers. Alito also worried that if religious charter schools were deemed government entities, it could affect other faith-based services that receive government funding, like Catholic Social Services or Catholic Charities. The justices grappled with hypothetical scenarios that revealed the complexity of the issue. Justice Elena Kagan described a potential school in a Hasidic community in New York that wanted to adopt a curriculum focused on ancient religious texts, with instruction in Yiddish or Hebrew. Would New York have to approve this charter school, she wondered, even though the curriculum would be dramatically different from standard public education? The state wanted charter schools to offer flexibility, but a ruling for St. Isidore could require funding all kinds of religious schools. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's immediate response to the ruling —dismissing it as a 'non-decision' and vowing to keep fighting —signals that this issue is far from settled. 'There will be another case just like this one and Justice Barrett will break the tie,' he said in a statement. 'This is far from a settled issue.' Legal experts across the spectrum agree the question will return to the court, likely within the next few years, when Barrett will presumably participate and potentially cast the deciding vote. The stakes will be even higher then, as a definitive ruling could reshape not just education policy but the fundamental relationship between religious institutions and government funding. As one legal expert noted, if the court rules for religious charter schools, it could mean that federal law governing charter schools and virtually all state charter school laws would be unconstitutional, because they require charter schools to be non-religious. Until that moment arrives, the St. Isidore deadlock represents a missed opportunity for clarity at a crucial juncture in American education and religious liberty. The court avoided making controversial precedent, but it also left critical questions unanswered about whether America's commitment to religious pluralism requires funding religious education or whether constitutional principles demand maintaining secular public schools. The culture wars over education will continue to rage with no clear rules of engagement and no end in sight, ensuring that communities, courts, and consciences remain divided for years to come. Asma T. Uddin writes on legal issues on her Substack 'Rights & Ruminations' and on love and health on 'The Architecture of Care.'
Wall Street Journal
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
A Religious Charter School Falls Short at the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court's big religious-liberty case ended with a whimper Thursday, and what a pity. A ruling in favor of St. Isidore, a proposed Catholic charter school in Oklahoma, could have bolstered religious freedom and educational options. Instead the Court split 4-4. That means the state judiciary's decision against St. Isidore stands. How did the Roberts Court's remarkable run on religious liberty end here? The deadlock was possible because Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond. She didn't explain why, as is common practice at the Court. Some speculate that the reason is her association from her Notre Dame days with a Notre Dame law professor who advised St. Isidore.
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Supreme Court Shuts Down Oklahoma's Catholic Charter School
The long journey of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School has come to an end. With a 4-4 tie, the United States Supreme Court has allowed the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision--that the proposed cyber charter violates the state constitution--to stand. The U.S. Supreme Court issued a one-sentence ruling, with no elaboration or opinions given. The tie vote was possible because Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. Though she offered no reason, it has been widely assumed that her recusal was because of her close friendship with Nicole Stelle Garnett, a Notre Dame Law professor who was an early advisor of St. Isidore and has worked with the Notre Dame Law School's Religious Liberty Clinic, part of St. Isidore's legal team, as reported by Abbie VanSickel and Sarak Mervosh at The New York Times. The original Oklahoma Supreme Court decision was handed down almost a year ago and will now stand as the final word on the case. The state court found that, as a public school, St. Isidore was fully bound by the state constitution. The school was open and clear about its intentions to 'creates, establish and operate' the school as a Catholic school' that would derive 'its original characteristics and its structure as a genuine instrument of the church' including 'the evangelizing mission of the church.' The court also found Oklahoma's constitution clear. Article 2, Section 5 prohibits the State from using any public money for the benefit or support of any religious institution. The Constitution also mandates that 'provisions shall be made for the establishment and maintenance of a system of public schools.' The Oklahoma Charter Schools Act declares that charter schools are public schools, and that they must be nonsectarian. From there, the court makes a short trip to its conclusion. St. Isidore is a charter school, therefor it is a public school and a state actor. Therefor the Establishment Clause and the Oklahoma Constitution apply, and the Free Exercise does not (because, says the court, St. Isidore is not a private entity). Wrote the court: The State's establishment of a religious charter school violates Oklahoma statutes Oklahoma Constitution, and the Establishment Clause. St. Isidore cannot justify existence by invoking Free Exercise rights as religious entity. St. Isidore came into existence through its charter with the State and will function as a component of the state's public school system. The case turns on the State's contracted-for religious teachings and activities through a new public charter school, not the State's exclusion of a religious entity. In other words, charters can't invoke the rights of a private organization to Free Exercise, because they are not private organizations, but part of the state. That ruling will now stand, and it's a setback for those looking to chip away at the wall between church and state. But it seems very likely that advocates for using public taxpayer dollars to fund religious charter schools will look for another case that will test the same principle, with special attention to avoiding another recusal. While advocates are looking for such a case, some states could use the interim to rewrite their charter laws to shield them from the possible effects of that future case. For the moment, the remaining bit of wall between church and state will stand.
Al Jazeera
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
US Supreme Court hits deadlock in case of publicly funded religious school
The United States Supreme Court has reached a deadlock in a case over whether a religious charter school in Oklahoma should be publicly funded. Thursday's tie vote allows a lower court ruling to stand. Previously, Oklahoma's state-level Supreme Court had barred the use of government funds to establish the St Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, citing constitutional limits to the government's role in religion. But the US Supreme Court's split vote on Thursday leaves an avenue open for other, similar cases to advance. With no decision from the highest court in the country, no new precedent has been set to govern funding for charter schools, which are independent institutions that receive government funding. It is relatively rare, though, that a Supreme Court case should end in a tie vote. The Houston Law Review in 2020 estimated that there had only been 183 ties at the Supreme Court since 1791, out of more than 28,000 cases. Normally, there are nine justices on the court's bench — an odd number, to ensure that the judges are not evenly split. But Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the hearings over the St Isidore school. Though she did not indicate her reasons, it is widely believed that Barrett stepped away from the case to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Barrett has a close personal relationship with an adviser to the St Isidore school, lawyer Nicole Garnett. As young legal professionals in the late 1990s, they clerked together on the Supreme Court, and they eventually taught together at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. When US President Donald Trump nominated Barrett to the Supreme Court in 2020, Garnett even wrote an opinion column in the newspaper USA Today, praising her friend as 'remarkable' and describing their lives as 'completely intertwined'. The Supreme Court's brief, two-line announcement on Thursday acknowledged Barrett's absence. 'The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court,' it read. 'JUSTICE BARRETT took no part in the consideration or decision of these cases.' That left the court split four to four, though the precise breakdown was not provided. Chief Justice John Roberts is thought to have joined with the three left-leaning justices on the bench to oppose the school's use of government funds. The Supreme Court currently has a conservative supermajority, with six justices leaning rightward. In the past, the court has signalled receptiveness to expanding religious freedoms in the US, including in cases that tested the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution. While that clause bars the government from 'the establishment of religion', what qualifies as establishing a religion remains unclear — and is a source of ongoing legal debate. The Oklahoma case stretches back to 2023, when the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City submitted an application to open a taxpayer-funded charter school that would share Catholic teachings. The school would have been the first of its kind, offering public, religious education online for children from kindergarten through high school. The plan was to open the following year. The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board initially voted down the proposal in April, only to give it the go-ahead in June by a narrow vote of three to two. That teed up a legal showdown, with opponents calling the school a clear violation of the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. But supporters argued that barriers to establishing a Catholic charter school limited their freedom of religion. Plans for the school even ended up dividing Oklahoma's government. The state attorney general, Gentner Drummond, opposed the charter school as a form of 'state-funded religion'. The governor, Kevin Stitt, supported the proposal. Both men are Republicans. In Oklahoma, as in the majority of other US states, charter schools are considered part of the public school system. When the case reached the state-level Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2024, that distinction became pivotal. The fact that St Isidore was a public — not private — school ultimately caused the court to strike it down, for fear of constitutional violations. The judges ruled in a six-to-two decision that establishing St Isidore with state funds would make it a 'surrogate of the state', just like 'any other state-sponsored charter school'. The school, the judges explained, would 'require students to spend time in religious instruction and activities, as well as permit state spending in direct support of the religious curriculum and activities within St. Isidore — all in violation of the establishment clause'. The school's backers appealed to the Supreme Court, leading to arguments being held in April. It was unclear at the time which way the high court seemed to be leaning, with Roberts pressing both sides with questions. But conservatives on the Supreme Court's bench seemed in favour of backing St Isidore's appeal. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, for instance, argued that withholding taxpayer funds from the religious school 'seems like rank discrimination against religion'. 'All the religious school is saying is, 'Don't exclude us on account of our religion,'' he said. The left-leaning justices, meanwhile, indicated that a ruling in favour of St Isidore would pave the way for public schools to become religious institutions, a slippery slope that could require the government to fund faith-based education of all stripes. On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has backed a separate lawsuit against the school, framed the deadlock at the Supreme Court as a victory for the separation of church and state. 'The very idea of a religious public school is a constitutional oxymoron. The Supreme Court's ruling affirms that a religious school can't be a public school and a public school can't be religious,' said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. But proponents pledged to keep on fighting. Jim Campbell, who argued in favour of St Isidore on behalf of Oklahoma's charter school board, noted that the court may 'revisit the issue in the future', given the deadlock. 'Oklahoma parents and children are better off with more educational choices, not fewer,' he said.
