New Kensington Catholic school raising money for Ten Commandments monument
A Ten Commandments monument that was removed from Valley High School in New Kensington by a court order now is the subject of a GoFundMe campaign to cover the cost of installing it at a nearby Catholic school.
Mary Queen of Apostles School seeks to raise $75,000 through the campaign to install the monument on its grounds, along with a digital message board that would showcase one of the Ten Commandments each day along with school messages.
The campaign was trending, meaning it was widely shared, within the first 12 hours it was posted online. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, $420 had been raised, according to the website.
“To do this well will be costly,” the GoFundMe campaign page reads. “A professional team will help to create a concept for the monument and sign, which will need to be designed, erected, lit and landscaped.”
The monument was the center of a lengthy federal lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation in 2012 on behalf of a local woman who claimed the monument was a strictly religious symbol offensive to her and her daughter, who attended Valley High School at that time. The woman identified herself as an atheist.
The New Kensington-Arnold School District and the foundation last month reached a settlement, which required the monument to be removed from the high school grounds and the district's insurance company to pay legal fees in the case.
Mary Queen of Apostles School was selected as the new home for the monument, after its removal from Valley High School on March 21.
The Catholic school is in the former Greenwald Elementary School building at Freeport and Elmtree roads in New Kensington. New Kensington-Arnold, the previous owner, closed the Greenwald school in 2014 as part of a district restructuring.
“We want to incorporate the community's noble, historic monument into a new design in a way that showcases the Ten Commandments and makes a visible statement of the values we teach and live at Mary Queen of Apostles and in our community,” said Monsignor Michael J. Begolly, chairman of the board of pastors of Mary Queen of Apostles and pastor of Mount St. Peter Parish in New Kensington.
The GoFundMe page states, “the Ten Commandments are an inspiration to live by and are not offensive in our community.”
Mary Queen of Apostles School Principal Cathy Collett said she is excited to see plans under way to move the monument to the school, and she hopes it will serve as a reminder to the region of the values held by the school and the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg.
“It's good for the community and it's in an appropriate place,” Collett said. “It's certainly what we teach and what we want for our students. Our families believe in it and so do many in the community.”
No date has been set for installing the monument, but Collett said once it's in place it will be visible to passing motorists on Freeport Road.
Any additional funds received over the campaign's goal are scheduled to be used to help replace the school's roof, renovate the gymnasium and provide tuition assistance to qualifying families, according to the campaign page.
Matthew Medsger is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4675 or mmedsger@tribweb.com.
