January 2006
Volume 11, Issue 1

SJA Archives

Arc Accolades Article One

Yet another milestone to be acknowledged is the diamond jubilee of Father Phillip Francis Sheerin's ordination. Father Sheerin was a member of the class of 1942 and was ordained to the priesthood on June 11, 1955. Father Sheerin spent twenty-five years as a missionary in Tanzania. During his years in east Africa, he served as pastor of the parish of Maswa Gula and revised and edited an English-Sakuma dictionary, which was an invaluable tool to those English speakers who were working with the Bantu people of Tanzania. Upon his homecoming to the United States, his ministry took Father Sheerin to the west coast. He was appointed director of the Maryknoll Residence in Los Altos, California in 1980 where he currently resides. When an earthquake damaged the Residence in 1989, Father Sheerin turned his energies to his duties as parochial vicar and chaplain to the El Camino Hospital. The St. Joan of Arc community joins in a collective hurrah for Father Sheerin and sends our hopes for "Ad Multos Anos" across the miles.

Tax Rally

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio joined forces with New York State Senator Martin Golden on the steps of the St. Joan of Arc Church to call upon the New York State Legislature to pass Senator Golden's proposed S.1939 bill. The bill would provide a $1500 tax credit to all parents of K-12 students in parochial, private, and public schools. Adding to their voices were those of Father Kieran Harrington, director of the diocesan office of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Monsignor John McGuirl, pastor, Mrs. Linda Kelly, principal, the five hundred strong student body of St. Joan of Arc along with the school faculty, an assembly of parents, and a large turnout of well-wishing parishioners. St. Joan of Arc was chosen as the site for the rally as a result of their ardent support of a campaign lead by Father Harrington which resulted in ninety thousand postcards and thirty thousand e-mails in support of Senator Golden's campaign to secure educational tax relief for New York state parents. The assembled throng gasped in surprise when the results of Father Harrington's endeavor were unveiled. At the close of the rally, St. Joan of Arc students loaded crate upon crate of the signed postcards into Father Harrington's car for delivery to lawmakers in Albany.

Senator Golden's bill is based on a model that has been upheld by the Minnesota Supreme Court. It is described as a "win-win plan which will bring the education of all students in New York to greater heights" by its author. It is not a voucher plan but allows for an annual state tax credit of up to $1,500 per student (to a maximum of $3,000 per family) to any qualified taxpayer to meet the educational expenses of their children. Parents themselves decide how to use their credit. 

They can use it to defer tuition expenses, to buy textbooks and supplies, seek remedial or enrichment services, or to enhance the learning experience of their children through the purchase of home computers or software. The bill also provides for a tax credit of $250 for teachers who use their personal funds to augment their teaching, a fact that roused the assembled faculty to even more vigorous applause.

Bishop DeMarzio stated that:" the Diocese of Brooklyn supports tuition tax credit relief."  He went on to say: "We think it’s time now to get some help, since it’s mutually beneficial that we get some relief, especially for the parents who are paying the tuition that is so necessary to keep our Catholic Schools going." Father Harrington expressed his support in the following words: "This is progressive tax legislation that assists the working class and working poor in providing for the educational needs of their children." Monsignor McGuirl noted that St. Joan of Arc is: "one of the biggest parishes in the diocese, multinational, multicultural, and multilingual ... whose parishioners see the value of a Catholic school system. We can only hope that our state legislators will listen."

We echo Monsignor McGuirl's wishes that our voices will be heard. We are confident that our state legislators will see the buoyant faces of the children who are the heart and reason for this rally and respond. They are our hope and our future. We pray for Senator Golden and all people who are working in the interest of our young people.  We ask the readers of Archives to add their voices to ours by expressing your strong support for tax relief to your representatives.