TRENTON, N.J. — Superstorm Sandy-weary diocesan and parish
officials lauded a Federal Emergency Management Agency policy change announced
earlier this year that reverses a prior exclusion for religious organizations
and houses of worship from applying for federal aid to recover from natural
disasters.
"This change in eligibility for FEMA public assistance to
religious organizations is monumental," said Joe Cahill, director of the
Diocese of Trenton's Department of Risk Management.
Cahill's comments came before the Feb. 9 passage of the Federal
Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act by Congress as part of the
Bipartisan Budget Act. The bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump,
codifies this change in FEMA policy.
The fairness provision directs FEMA to make disaster relief
assistance available to houses of worship "on the same terms as other
nonprofit entities," said a statement released the same day by the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops, which had urged its passage.
“These provisions ensure that houses of worship are treated
fairly. That's good not only for houses of worship but for the communities that
depend on them," added the statement issued jointly by Archbishop Joseph
E. Kurtz of Louisville, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty, and Bishop
Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, Pa., chairman of the Committee on Ecumenical and
Interreligious Affairs.
When it announced the policy change Jan. 2, FEMA attributed it to
a 7-2 U.S. Supreme Court decision last June, which held that Trinity Lutheran
Church in Missouri should not have been denied a public benefit just because it
is a church.
In urging Congress to pass the Federal Disaster Assistance
Nonprofit Fairness Act, the U.S. bishops and others also cited the Trinity
Lutheran case.
Damage to Texas churches and Florida synagogues following
hurricanes Harvey and Irma sparked additional legal challenges, as well as
lawsuits filed against FEMA. In the fall, members of Congress — including Rep.
Chris Smith, R-New Jersey — advocated for legislative changes to allow for
disaster relief funding eligibility for houses of worship.
In an interview prior to the federal budget bill's passage,
Cahill said the ongoing debate over the funding has resonated across the
Diocese of Trenton, particularly in areas affected by Superstorm Sandy.
"The memory of Sandy remains at the Diocese of
Trenton," Cahill told The Monitor, newspaper
of the Diocese of Trenton. "Many parishes on the barrier islands and other
coastal areas have not fully recovered. Some homes remain abandoned or have
been demolished.
"Parishioner count has declined in some locations as local
economies suffered from the effects of the storm and (as) people moved away for
reason of employment or available housing."
Some 65 individual parish properties incurred more than $14
million in damages and cleanup costs in Superstorm Sandy, Cahill said.
Considerable funds were necessary for removing debris, pumping
out flood waters, decontaminating flooded buildings and demolishing
water-damaged infrastructure, with churches, chapels, schools, community
centers, food pantries, rectories, convents, offices, cemeteries and other
diocesan and church properties among the affected sites.
"If FEMA assistance was available early on, it would have
eased the cash flow burden on the diocese and parishes," Cahill said,
"as the cost of emergency work in the early days after the storm was
significant and could have covered a portion of the flood insurance deductible
for a named storm."
Under the prior review process, Cahill said that a religious
organization would have to prove that assistance was for flood damage to
buildings that were not religious in nature — but even then, the process was
lengthy.
Msgr. Edward J. Arnister, pastor of St. Rose Parish, remembers
all too well the significant damage his parish and school community sustained
at the hands of Superstorm Sandy. It took four weeks before the church could
reopen, and all electric, heat and air conditioning systems had to be replaced.
The parish center and first floor of St. Rose High School had to be completely
restored and rebuilt, and the roof of St. Rose Grammar School was torn off by
wind and had to be replaced.
"I can't emphasize enough that good planning and management
by the Diocese of Trenton in having adequate flood insurance saved the
day," Msgr. Arnister told The Monitor. "St. Rose would have been in
serious financial difficulty without that." FEMA did provide some limited
funding for recovery efforts.
In Congress, Smith introduced the Federal Disaster Assistance
Nonprofit Fairness Act first in 2013, and again in 2015 and 2017.
Houses of worship "are hubs in our communities for
humanitarian assistance year-round, and especially during times of natural
disaster," he said in an interview before the vote on his legislation as
part of the budget bill.
Smith praised the Diocese of Trenton for its "professional
and meticulous" response to Superstorm Sandy, noting the significant role
that religious organizations play in the wake of a natural disaster.
"So many churches are directly involved in disaster relief
and bring with them a cadre of committed volunteers," he said.
"In every federal disaster, local synagogues, churches —
their schools, community centers, and physical houses of worship — provide
supplies, food, medicines, shelters and coordination of volunteer
services," Smith said.
"Without them, our national recovery efforts would be
significantly diminished and as such, churches should not be discriminated
against when applying for federal assistance," he added.
Karas is a correspondent for The Monitor, newspaper of
the Diocese of Trenton.