NEWS STORY: Bush Praises Faith Groups for Tsunami Aid, Pushes Conservative Agenda

c. 2005 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ President Bush praised the role of faith in the country Thursday (Feb. 3), singling out faith-based groups for their response to the devastating tsunamis in South Asia. Bush, speaking at the 53rd annual National Prayer Breakfast, praised churches, mosques and synagogues for a “superb job” in delivering relief […]

c. 2005 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ President Bush praised the role of faith in the country Thursday (Feb. 3), singling out faith-based groups for their response to the devastating tsunamis in South Asia.

Bush, speaking at the 53rd annual National Prayer Breakfast, praised churches, mosques and synagogues for a “superb job” in delivering relief to victims of the Dec. 26 disaster that left at least 158,000 people dead.


“People of faith have no corner on compassion,” Bush said. “But people of faith need compassion if they are to be true to their most cherished beliefs.”

Bush’s brief remarks to the thousands of assembled clergy, lawmakers and diplomats came just 10 hours after his fifth State of the Union address, in which the president backed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and vowed to help build “a culture of life” against abortion and embryonic stem-cell research.

“Today, millions of people across this Earth get the help they need only because our faith-based institutions live the commandment to `love thy neighbor as thyself,”’ Bush said at the breakfast. “Often, that means remembering the people forgotten or overlooked in a busy world.”

The annual invitation-only prayer breakfast featured prayers from the Christian and Jewish traditions in an atmosphere of bipartisanship. Bush’s Democratic challenger in last year’s election, Sen. John Kerry, was among the attendees.

Tony Hall, the U.S. ambassador to United Nations food and hunger agencies in Rome, told the audience he became a Christian 26 years ago after attending a prayer breakfast as a member of Congress.

“What’s interesting is that I had to come to the Congress of the United States to find God,” Hall said. “I know that sounds strange. People have all kinds of images of what this city is all about.”

While Bush’s remarks at the breakfast featured the religious references and rhetoric that have become commonplace in his administration, his language during Wednesday’s State of the Union address was more measured.


Bush came out strongly against “activist judges” who would allow gay marriage, and signaled that he will continue to limit the use of federal funds for controversial embryonic stem-cell research.

“I will work with Congress to ensure that human embryos are not created for experimentation or grown for body parts, and that human life is never bought and sold as a commodity,” he said.

The president also made a passing reference to his “faith-based initiative,” stalled in Congress, that would allow religious groups to compete for federal funding for social service programs. “Our government will continue to support faith-based and community groups that bring hope to harsh places,” he said.

Bush’s nod to his evangelical base won wide praise from conservative activists, who have been concerned that Bush may not use his bully pulpit to advance their agenda in his second term.

“We have at times wished that he would have said more during the campaign,” said Tom Minnery, vice president for government and public policy at Focus on the Family. “We do not wish that any longer, because he has boldly asserted his support for the marriage amendment.”

MO/PH END ECKSTROM

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