Catholic student's poem mentioning God faced public school battle

Published: 2004-12-10

NEWARK, N.J. (CNS) -- A Thanksgiving poem mentioning God ended up being the subject of controversy in a New Jersey public school. The poem, written by Kaeley Hay, a Catholic fifth-grade student at Lincoln-Franklin School in Garwood, was eventually posted as written on the school bulletin board, but not without some bureaucratic headaches and a groundswell of support from the local religious community. The poem was part of a Thanksgiving assignment and had been voted by students to be displayed on the school bulletin board. But before it was posted, it was altered. The school principal told Kaeley's mother, Colleen, that the word "God" was deleted from the poem to play it "safe." Kaeley's mother, surprised by the school decision, mentioned it to her pastor, Msgr. John Philip O'Connor, at the Church of St. Anne in Garwood. In a Thanksgiving message, the priest offered his congratulations to the "young author and her expression of faith." "We salute and stand with her parents for objecting to the removal of the word 'God' from their daughter's poem," he said.

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