California Missions In Financial Trouble

Today's Monterey Herald reports that with a lawsuit pending (see prior posting) challenging federal aid for renovating California's 21 historic missions, the California Missions Foundation is in deep financial trouble. It appears that Congress will not appropriate any funds for them in this year's budget, despite its previous enactment of the California Missions Act. State funding has also dried up after the California Cultural and Historic Endowment Board ruled that the prohibition on using state funds for religious purposes precludes them from funding the missions. 19 of the missions are owned by the Catholic Church and still used for religious services. Even if the California Missions Act is upheld, it calls for the missions to raise matching funds, and they have had difficulty doing this. Mission San Miguel near San Luis Obispo has been completely closed because of earthquake damage since December 2003.