New Bishop’s Opinion on School Health Clinics Eagerly Awaited

As the next round approaches in the fight over placing health clinics in San Diego public schools, a question looms about San Diego’s new Roman Catholic bishop.

Will Bishop Robert H. Brom maintain the same hard-line opposition to the clinics as his predecessor, Bishop Leo T. Maher?

Maher’s vehemence and his use of the pulpit to stir public opinion were credited in 1986 with forcing the school board to back down, a rare defeat for Supt. Tom Payzant.

Maher’s opposition was rooted in Catholic abhorrence to birth control and abortion.

But anti-abortion activists, both from the laity and the clergy, fear that Brom may restrict his opposition to pro forma statements.

Fueling this fear are reports of a schism on a diocese committee established to advise Brom on school district plans for a clinic at Hoover High School.

The Rev. Dennis L. Mikulanis, pastor of Holy Spirit Church in San Diego and newly named vicar of communication, wants Brom to take a more low-key, accommodating approach than Maher did.

The Rev. Edward Kaicher, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in San Ysidro, wants Brom to adamantly oppose the clinics and invoke the church’s political clout. Kaicher spent 22 days in jail for blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic.

The exchanges between Mikulanis and Kaicher have reportedly been heated.

Mikulanis, president of the San Diego County Ecumenical Council, declined comment: “It’s none of your business.”

Kaicher said he believes that the Hoover clinic will inevitably lead to dispensing birth control devices and abortion referrals, regardless of what school officials say.

“Father Mikulanis believes the bishop can reach a kind of compromise on the issue,” he said. “I don’t.”

The school board has approved the “concept” of a clinic at Hoover. But final approval awaits completion of a private financing plan, possibly within the next few months.

Nancy Siemers, chairwoman of the school district committee working on the Hoover clinic plan, said there are no plans to provide birth control and abortion referrals.

But anti-abortion activists do not believe Siemers. They point to an opinion from the state legislative counsel in Sacramento saying that school-sponsored clinics must provide a full range of reproductive health services.

Further, they note that Payzant’s wife, Ellen, is president of the local chapter of Planned Parenthood.

Activists plan to distribute a letter to diocese priests who are scheduled for a retreat this week at Murrieta Hot Springs. Kaicher hopes to meet with Payzant.

“We feel it’s imperative for Bishop Brom to follow Bishop Maher’s strong leadership,” said Joan Patton, who is a Catholic and a leader in the San Diego Right-to-Life Council.

“For him, in effect, to remain silent would be like remaining silent during the Holocaust of World War II. We’ll be watching him very closely.”

Hey, He’s Not My Dad

Naming names.

* Paul Eckert, the pro-growth county supervisor, was dumped four years ago by angry North County voters. But his name is still a swear word.

Encinitas City Council candidate Maura Wiegand called a press conference to complain that she’s being smeared by foes who claim she’s Eckert’s daughter.

She’s not. Her ex-husband is Richard Eckert, but he’s not related to the fallen pol, either.

* Lt. Cmdr. Cristobal Colon of the Spanish Navy comes to San Diego in a few days. He’ll be honored at a reception at the Cabrillo National Monument.

Colon is an 18th-generation direct descendant and namesake of another sailor who toiled for Spain. The latter is better known by his Anglicized name, Christopher Columbus.

* Aaron Feldman, president of Sunroad Enterprises development firm, hosts a $250-a-plate fund-raising breakfast today for Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt.

You remember Bernhardt. She’s the candidate who vowed not to take contributions from developers.

* It seemed only a chuckle when it was discovered that Dianne Feinstein had scribbled some crib notes on her hand for her televised debate with Pete Wilson.

But Wilson loyalists say the notes-on-the-palm flap hurt her badly--that by campaign’s end, it had made Feinstein seem like a flake.