Bush Puts Faith-Based Organizations At Centre of Policy eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Religion is being brought back to the centre of American government by President Bush, who cites his Christianity as the underpinning of his own brand of "compassionate conservatism". Announcing that religious and community organisations would be eligible for billions of dollars in government funding yesterday, Mr Bush gathered 35 Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and secular leaders at the White House. They were all people, he said, who had "heard the universal call to love a neighbour like they'd like to be loved themselves, who exist and work hard, not out of love of money, but out of the love of their fellow human beings".
Mr Bush said a White House office would be established to distribute the money to groups that dealt each day with the "deep needs and real suffering in the shadow of America's affluence", including problems of addiction, gang violence and homelessness. It would be called the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and be headed by John DiIulio, a Catholic. Scott Goldsmith, a Jew and former mayor of Indianapolis, would act as presidential adviser.
Although Mr Bush was careful to say he would not fund the religious activities of any group, his initiative provoked criticism from some on the Left who said it violated the constitutional separation of church and state. In the early days of his presidency, Mr Bush has made it clear that his personal religious faith is almost inseparable from his political philosophy. His inauguration speech contained several biblical references and his education plan unveiled last week allows parents to use government money to send children to religious schools.
"He believes faith is a powerful tool to change lives," said Scott McClellan, a White House spokesman. Some critics said Mr Bush was foisting religion on Americans without any proof that it could do a better job than
government. Others feared that he could be planning to cut spending by curtailing government initiatives. Steve Benen, of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said a legal challenge might be mounted. "It's a misguided public policy and from a constitutional perspective it's a nightmare."But Mr Bush's advisers have calculated that his proposals will find favour with a majority of Americans and draw bipartisan support in Congress. Surveys show that around a half of Americans go to church at least twice a
month. Senator Joe Lieberman, an orthodox Jew who ran for vice-president, has frequently spoken of the need for the government to promote faith-based groups.Mr Bush renewed his commitment to Christianity at about the age of 40 with the help of Billy Graham, the evangelical preacher, and gave up drinking. A Methodist, he reads the Bible every day and attends church at least once a week. His belief in the value of faith-based organisations grew from discussions with Marvin Olasky, one of the first proponents of "compassionate conservatism". Mr Bush hopes that his support for faith-based initiatives will help him to build bridges with black voters, only 9% of whom voted for him in November's election. (The London Telegraph)
Sympathetic Signals From President Bush
The apostolic nuncio in the United States was upbeat in assessing last Thursday's dinner attended by President George W. Bush and leading Catholic Church figures. "A good beginning, very interesting," said Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo. He was present at the dinner held in Hyattsville, Maryland, in the residence of the new archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick. The event came on the eve of the unveiling of a Bush - administration plan to allow public funding of religious organizations engaged in assistance, volunteer work and humanitarian aid.
Other guests included Cardinal James Hickey, the outgoing archbishop of Washington, D.C.; Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Auxiliary Bishop William Lori of Washington, who was recently named the new bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut. President Bush was accompanied by his wife, Laura; his national security adviser, Condolezza Rice; and legal adviser Al Gonzalez. Archbishop Montalvo said the purpose of the dinner was to grow in reciprocal knowledge and understanding. Topics were mentioned "that concern the Church," he said.
The Italian newspaper Avvenire quoted Susan Gibbs, spokesman of Archbishop McCarrick, commenting on the new president's initiatives. "The freezing of funding for organizations that promote abortion abroad was wonderful. We have been waiting for it for 8 years. The reform of education is also interesting, and the archbishop has always supported the use of the 'school check' for parents who wish to send their children to private schools."
Archbishop McCarrick has been "foreign minister" of the U.S. bishops' conference, and he is a member of the Federal Commission for International Religious Liberty, formed by the State Department during the Clinton administration. As a member of this commission, he was part of a delegation that made an official trip to China, during which he met with President Jiang Zemin, to discuss questions related to freedom of worship. According to Gibbs, Archbishop McCarrick would like to continue this endeavor of religious dialogue.
The archbishop also is a member of the executive council of the Church's humanitarian agency, Catholic Relief Services, equivalent to Caritas in other countries. His presence at the dinner coincides with Bush's announcement of the allocation of increased federal funds for religious volunteers. In line with the "merciful conservatism" Bush proposed during the presidential campaign, he will create a new body designed to support confessional social action.
The initiative has sparked constitutional concerns over "separation of church and state." But Bush responded: "When it is about saving human lives, we must look especially at the efficacy of the programs." He contends there is no violation of the U.S. Constitution, for 2 reasons. In the first place, the organizations receiving funds will be able to carry out social services, not proselytism; and, in the second place, the beneficiaries will have the possibility to choose alternative, non-confessional programs. (Zenit)
Bishop Says Church Guilty Over Slave-Labor
Germany's leading Roman Catholic bishop says the Church there should recognise its guilt in the plight of the victims of forced labour schemes during WW2. The Bishop of Mainz, Karl Lehman -- a leading liberalcleric who was appointed Cardinal on Sunday -- said the Church in Germany had remained silent for far too long on the issue of Nazi slave labourers. He said that if Germany was to reconcile itself with those minorities and countries that had suffered from Nazi aggression, it had to come to terms with its own past. Last year, the Roman Catholic Church in Germany agreed to pay almost $5mn in compensation to survivors, admitting that up to 1,500 people were forced to work for the church. However experts estimate that about 10,000 people were made to work in monasteries, hospitals and other church institutions. (BBC)
Christianity Dominates The Religions
Christianity remains the dominant world religion and the number of believers has quadrupled in the last century to nearly 2bn, according to a new encyclopedia. Despite the rapid growth of Islam, Christianity is still followed by the majority in 66% of the world's 238 countries. The statistics have been gathered for World Christian Encyclopedia, to be published in Britain in June. The last edition was published by Oxford University Press in 1982.
The Rev Dr David Barrett, principal researcher, has calculated that Christianity grew from 555mn (32.2%t) in 1900 to 1.9bn in 2000 (31%). Islam had 200mn in 1900 (12.3%) and 1.2bn (19.6%) now. Judaism has 14mn, Buddhism 60mn, Hinduism 811mn and Sikhism 23mn. Dr Barrett, a former research secretary for the Anglican Communion, said Christianity had grown in the developing world but had experienced "sweeping defections" to secularism in western Europe. (The London Telegraph)
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