ANOTHER CHURCH-STATE FIASCO

Public high schools more and more frequently around the nation are requiring students to perform volunteer community service as a requirement for graduation. One Chicago-area school that has had this requirement for more than 20 years is now facing a quandary: Can volunteer work at church be counted and not somehow erode separation of church and state?

The question is silly -- but not altogether unexpected in this age of hair splitting over bald issues.

Consider the ramifications: Under a tight interpretation, high school students would not be permitted to volunteer at hospitals run by religious organizations, or food pantries set up at churches or day-care center or nursing homes or anything else affiliated with a church.

Fortunately for us, churches are the backbone of charitable activities. Instilling the value of community service in high school students is commendable. But at the expense of neglecting church-sponsored efforts to do good, even if no religious dogma is being espoused?

Sometimes those who seek good intentions are blinded by folly.