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Against the Hard Sell. CEF's muscular pursuit of its goals has stirred angry opposition, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, which contends that state aid to parochial schools violates the separation of church and state and undermines the public school system. Many Protestant church leaders have equally strong feelings about it. In Providence, R.I., this month, the Rev. C. Clifford Sargent, superintendent of the Methodist district, asked that a message be read from the district's pulpits urging defeat of the Rhode Island tuition grant bill. In Pennsylvania, state aid to parochial schools has been opposed by a number of religious groups, including the mostly Protestant state Council of Churches.
Even some Catholics criticize CEF's hard-sell tactics on the ground that they could end up by making more enemies than friends for the parochial school cause. Nevertheless, the organization plans no letup in its crusade for what it terms "the right of parents to educate their children as they see fit." Says National President Paul Mecklenborg of Cincinnati, a Catholic accountant: "Our main concern is the equal distribution of the tax dollar, no matter where the child goes, as long as the school is accredited." Insists James Pie, a CEF Catholic spokesman in Pennsylvania: "The more CEF tells the story, the more converts we are going to get."