In the continuing back-and-forth discussions about who’s praying at what inaugural event and whether that person was a good pick, megachurch pastor Rick Warren has welcomed President-elect Barack Obama’s invitation to Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson to pray at the opening of the kick-off concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday.

“President-elect Obama has again demonstrated his genuine commitment to bringing all Americans of good will together in search of common groud,” he said in a statement to Christianity Today reported on the magazine’s Politics Blog. “I applaud his desire to be the president of every citizen.”

Liberal critics had criticized the choice of Warren for the invocation at Obama’s swearing-in because of the pastor’s stand against gay marriage. Robinson, an openly gay bishop, has said that decision “was like a slap in the face.”

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