The following comes from a Feb. 7 story on National Public Radio by Tom Gjelten.
With his opening words at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump made clear he saw the largely conservative crowd as a friendly audience, one he was eager to please.
“I will never let you down,” he said. “I can say that. Never.”
In his first appearance at the event in 2017, Trump promised to get rid of the Johnson Amendment, a cause popular among those Christians who resent the law’s restriction of political speech by pastors. The law is still on the books, and Trump did not repeat the promise this year.
He devoted much of his speech instead to other issues important to conservative Christians, from religious liberty to abortion. He praised Vice President Pence’s wife, Karen, for teaching at a conservative Christian school that requires its staff to declare a belief in marriage as “the uniting of one man and one woman,” and he pledged support for a government-funded Catholic adoption agency in Michigan that faces an ACLU lawsuit over its refusal to place children with same-sex couples.
The National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event first held in 1953, is traditionally a nonpartisan event that draws thousands of people from a variety of faith traditions, including diplomats, businesspeople and politicians. Every president since Dwight Eisenhower has addressed the breakfast. The co-chairs this year were Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was among the members of Congress in attendance.
In his speech to the breakfast, Trump promoted his administration’s record in matters of faith, such as his effort to secure the freedom of Andrew Brunson, an evangelical pastor who spent two years in a Turkish prison. Turning to Brunson, who was in the audience, Trump took credit for his release in October 2018.
“He was there for a long time before I got there,” Trump claimed. “I said, ‘You gotta let him out.’ And they let you out.”
Trump got the loudest applause in response to a line suggesting his opposition to abortion, a theme he also highlighted in his State of the Union speech two days earlier.
“As part of our commitment to building a just and loving society, we must build a culture that cherishes the dignity and sanctity of innocent human life,” he said. “All children born and unborn are made in the holy image of God.” The crowd stood and roared.
Just like Ronald Regan tore down the Berlin Wall all by himself?
It sure wouldn’t have happened without Ronald Reagan.Thatcher and Wojtyla freely admitted that. Trump has no equivalent allies though, so he’ll have to lead on his own.
The credit goes to Our Lady.
Maybe Our Lady can help us tear down the Trump Wall.
Our Lady doesn’t act without our pleading. That’s why Our Lord goes to the trouble of send her to us to remind us of that fact.
St. Pope John Paul II did give credit to Our Lady for interceding for his life when he was shot. He put the bullet in the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
The Anonymous post Feb. 11, 2019 at 10:am was mine — Anne TE
President Ronald Regan AND St. Pope John Paul II tore down the Berlin Wall together, with the help of others of course. When President Trump says I will not fail you, he IS including the others.
Trump did get rid of the Johnson Amendment but by Executive Order. To change the laws in the books requires Socialist votes and the Democrats are anti-Christian. I am well pleased with Donald Trump the Zgreat.
ACLU expressed concerns about Trump’s executive order based on a leaked draft, but later said it had “no discernible policy outcome.” The conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom, which advocates on behalf of pastors and churches and against the Johnson Amendment, said Trump’s order came up short and described it as just “vague instructions” with wiggle room to be ignored. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jul/18/donald-trump/trump-claims-he-got-rid-johnson-amendment-true/
The Johnson Amendment is a red herring design to stir up conservatives. You can count the times the Johnson Amendment was enforced by the IRS in the last 25 years on the fingers of one hand. And in every case the church involved blatantly violated the Amendment and then public dared the IRS to do something about it. The IRS didn’t so the churcs continued daring them until the IRS had no choice in the matter.
The IRS has no interest in going after churches and will only do so if given no other choice.
Most people think the National Prayer Breakfast is about praying to God. The problem is the current resident of the White House thinks he is God. It’s all about him and what he has done- he never mentions how God has helped him.
Pretty sure Trump doesn’t think he is God
Obama sure did.
Alice, the same thing can be said about many other politicians. some want to re interpret the Holy Bible to include “marriage” between two men and two women, which it explicitly condemns. To what God are they praying? Not the God of the Bible.
Some condemned President Trump and the first lady for not repeating the Creed at President Bush’s funeral, but that is not the Creed Catholics say. The whole latter half was left out.
Correction to third line: To what god are they praying?
Politicians aren’t supposed to be interpreting the Bible at all.
I should have written that the latter part of the Creed was left out. President Trump is not Catholic, but not all Christians groups say the Creed.
The part left out was “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints and life everlasting.” Most Catholics would not have said it or added the latter.
Correction to last line:”or would have added the latter.”
“All children born and unborn are made in the holy image of God.” The crowd stood and roared.” Oh, to have seen Pelosi’s face…
Chardin: He acts like a demigod!