Suit aims to halt federal funds to accomplish mission rehabs.A Washington, D.C., advocacy group has filed suit to stop $10 million in federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve from being used to repair 17 of the 21 Spanish missions in California The Spanish missions in California (more simply referred to as the California Missions) comprise a series of religious outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Catholic faith among the local Native Americans. , including the Mission San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Rey de Espana in Mission Hills. The grants were part of the California Missions Preservation Act, signed by President Bush in November. The funds, managed by the California Missions Foundation in Riverside, would be used to restore the structures, artwork and artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. at missions built between 1769 and 1798 and registered as California historic landmarks. Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a religious freedom advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine seen by the AU as being enshrined in the Establishment sued Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton Gale Ann Norton (born March 11, 1954) served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. She was the first woman to hold the position. last month on behalf of four unnamed California residents who objected to having their tax dollars support religious buildings and artifacts such as Bibles and altars, according to the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). . Nine of the missions identified for the funds have active Catholic congregation, the suit says. An official Americans United for Separation of Church and State could not be reached. Dan DuBray, press secretary for the Department of the Interior, said the argument against the use of funds for religious sites is not unusual and that the government intends to fight the suit. "One of the most important roles for the Department of the Interior is we have oversight over a number of the historic sites and public lands that are tied to the heritage of all Americans," he said. "One pan of that heritage is obviously rooted in the spirituality of the folks who settled. There are several examples, not just the missions in California." Other funds have been used to renovate the Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., the oldest synagogue in the United States, and Ebenezer Baptist Church. childhood church of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he said. Staff reporter Amanda Bronstad can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 225, or at abronstad@businessjournal.com. |
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