A federal court today struck down a new plan by officials in South Bend, Ind., to transfer public land to a religious school, a development welcomed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

U.S. District Judge Robert L. Miller Jr. said the city’s plan to sell the Family Dollar property for $345,000 violates the constitutional separation of church and state. The city paid $1.2 million for the property.

Said Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, “The judge clearly saw that the city was attempting an end run around the court’s earlier decision. The decision makes clear that the city cannot give preferential treatment to St. Joseph’s over other potential bidders.

“This is an important victory for the taxpayers of South Bend. Public funds should never be spent to support churches or church schools,” she continued. “I hope this makes the council realize that it’s time to respect the separation of church and state.”

Ruled Miller, “A well-informed and reasonable nonadherent would see the proposed transfer as a direct endorsement of a particular religion over other religions and non-believers.”

The proposed governmental aid to the Catholic school was challenged by four taxpayers represented by Americans United, the Indiana ACLU and the national ACLU.

The three civil liberties groups filed suit after the South Bend Common Council voted 5-4 to spend $1.2 million to buy property that was to be transferred to the Catholic Diocese of Ft. Wayne-South Bend for free. The land would have been used by St. Joseph's High School to build a football stadium.

Miller struck down the original plan in a Sept. 7 ruling. In the wake of his decision, city officials drafted a new plan to have the land appraised twice and sold to the highest bidder. The bidder, however, had to use the land in a manner that comported with St. Joseph’s development plans, a restriction that all but guaranteed that the church school would end up with the land at a greatly reduced price.

The lawsuit, Wirtz v. City of South Bend, noted that St. Joseph’s High requires all students to receive a Catholic education, including study in theology. All athletic competitions and practices are preceded by prayers consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church and are led by a priest when one is present. The school handbook encourages coaches to arrange for a prayer service or mass before games when feasible.

Thus, the lawsuit argued, South Bend city funding of St. Joseph’s High unconstitutionally shows governmental preference for one religious institution over others and gives substantial direct support to religious activities.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit were local taxpayers Roy Wirtz, Eric Brown, Tim DeLaney and Peter Reimers. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division.

The attorneys representing the plaintiffs are AU Senior Litigation Counsel Alex J. Luchenitser, Indiana ACLU Staff Attorney Gavin Rose and Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, along with Indiana ACLU Legal Director Kenneth J. Falk and AU’s Khan.