Archdiocese, City Explore Avenues for Youth Center

The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles plans to form a non-sectarian organization to operate its youth center in Glendale in order to become eligible for federal funds to build a new facility, an archdiocese official said Wednesday.

The Glendale City Council in April had allocated $155,000 of the city’s share of federal Community Development Block Grant funds to the Catholic Youth Organization in Glendale to replace its outdated and severely crowded center at 4322 San Fernando Road.

But city officials said they were told in November that the CYO is not eligible to receive government funds because of new federal guidelines. The guidelines have been issued as a result of recent U. S. Supreme Court rulings on the constitutional doctrine of separation of church and state. Allocations by the city must be approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Madalyn Blake, community development administrator of Glendale, said the new guidelines prohibit the city from giving federal money to the CYO because the proposed new center would become an asset of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Supreme Court justices have ruled that government funds cannot directly benefit a religious organization or church.

Glendale city officials met last week with leaders of Catholic Charities, which oversees the CYO, to discuss various ways to form a non-sectarian organization to operate the proposed new center.

“There are a couple of ways available to them,” said Jess Duran, assistant community development director. “We want to get something to HUD by the end of the month.”

Sister Georgianna Cahill, associate executive director of Catholic Charities, said the organization has filed a declaration of intent to form a nonprofit organization with Glendale, allowing the city to formally request release of the HUD funds.