Bush Talks About Faith at Prayer BreakfastThursday June 16, 2005 10:16 PM
By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush has never been shy about talking about his faith, and he has been getting more opportunities with the increasing popularity of prayer breakfasts.
Bush doesn't typically lead the worship at these events, but speaks easily of his faith and humbly of his place before God. ``Through fellowship and prayer, we acknowledge that all power is temporary, and must ultimately answer to his purposes,'' Bush said at the National Prayer Breakfast in February.
In the past six weeks, Bush has been the main attraction at three prayer events. He hosted the National Day of Prayer at the White House, attended the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast and on Thursday spoke at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast.
Bush also has issued three presidential proclamations in the past year declaring national days of prayer. One marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and another on Memorial Day. Then there was the first Thursday in May, which has been the official National Day of Prayer since President Reagan signed it into law in 1988.
The annual prayer breakfast is a tradition that Bush's predecessors also have followed. President Clinton made headlines in 1998 when he used the occasion to emotionally apologize for the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
The prayer events are becoming more popular and the famously religious president is a sought-after speaker.
Austin Ruse, vice president of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast now in its second year, said the organizers were inspired by the successful draw of the National Prayer Breakfast and thought there might be room for one that was uniquely Catholic. He said they wanted to honor Bush because he ``holds Catholic positions'' against gay marriage, abortion and stem cell research.
Ruse said they wouldn't invite just any president who didn't share their views to speak.
``That would be a problem for us to have someone on stage who is opposed to the central teachings of the church,'' he said. ``Everyone would be welcome to have scrambled eggs. We would frankly love to have Teddy Kennedy there, but in terms of having a microphone, that would be a different thing.''
Kennedy, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, is a Catholic who supports abortion rights and funding for stem cell research.
Bush also was the first president to attend the Hispanic prayer breakfast, now in its fourth year.
They are usually bipartisan events, and Bush embraces that spirit, if just for that gathering.
Thursday's Hispanic prayer breakfast meeting came 37 hours after a Republican fundraiser where Bush launched a combative attack on Democrats and accused them of standing for nothing but obstructionism. But there was no sign of that animosity as he thanked lawmakers including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for ``setting aside politics to come and honor the Almighty through prayer.''
Still, Bush usually works in some references to his conservative political positions. ``We're working to support and defend the sanctity of marriage and to ensure that the most vulnerable Americans are welcomed in life and protected in love,'' he said. His references against gay unions and abortion got murmurs of ``Amen'' and applause from the Hispanic group.
Mark David Hall, who teaches a class on Christianity and politics at Oregon's George Fox University, said polls show that Americans like how Bush talks about his faith. He said it's especially smart politically for Bush to spend time praying with key Republican constituencies such as religious conservatives and Hispanics.
``If I were advising him, I would say this is a no-brainer,'' Hall said. ``This is a constituency that the Republicans want to reach out to.''