Okay, for strict proponents for the separation of church and state this won't set well. It goes along with my post from this morning.
I'm watching this story and the earlier one closely for what comes out of them. It's not surprising for me to see developments such as this. I had a strong intuition that Barack Obama would be strongly involved in things of the faith...a real departure from what many might have expected of a Democrat administration.
Indeed it will be interesting to see where Obama's faith-based initiatives go.
President Obama signed an executive order Thursday to create a revamped White House office for religion-based and neighborhood programs, expanding an initiative started by the Bush administration that provides government support — and financing — to religious and charitable organizations that deliver social services.
“No matter how much money we invest or how sensibly we design our policies, the change that Americans are looking for will not come from government alone,” Mr. Obama said. “There is a force for good greater than government.”
In announcing the expansion of the religion office, Mr. Obama did not settle the biggest question: Can religious groups that receive federal money for social service programs hire only those who share their faith?
The Bush administration said yes. But many religious groups and others that are concerned about employment discrimination and protecting the separation of church and state had pushed hard for Mr. Obama to repeal the Bush policies.
Meanwhile, other religious groups were lobbying to preserve their right to use religion as a criterion in hiring. Some religious social service providers warned they might stop working with the government if they were forced to change policies.
Instead of deciding the issue, the president called Thursday for a legal review of the policy case by case before determining whether religious groups can receive government money and selectively hire employees based on their religious beliefs.
Mr. Obama told an audience in Ohio last summer, “You can’t use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can’t discriminate against them.”
Joshua DuBois, a 26-year-old Pentecostal minister who led religious outreach for Mr. Obama during the presidential race, will direct the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Mr. DuBois said in an interview, “The president is still very much committed to clear constitutionality and legality in this program. He’s committed to nondiscrimination.”
....The president also announced the formation of a 25-member advisory council that includes religious leaders and heads of nonprofit groups, among them, several evangelical Christians, the president of Catholic Charities U.S.A., a rabbi, a Muslim community organizer and the openly gay director of a nonprofit group.
....“No matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate,” Mr. Obama told an audience of Republicans and Democrats, diplomats and members of the clergy. “There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.”
Read the whole story here.
I find the final remark to be extraordinarily interesting--it should attract a lot of commentary.
Well, we'll hope (and pray) for the best, but if he's laying groundwork for the one Novus Ordo that should've scared us all, the New One-religion, then those with eyes to see and ears to hear will know it soon enough. Meanwhile, this is a good time for Opus Dei to ready their money and people, a sowing-amongst that JP II may've foreseen as being necessary one day.
Mr. O's test (in my book) about all this will be what he does about anti-Catholicism. If he considers it the hate-crime that it is, I'll be very surprised, tho' it wouldn't have surprised me coming from Alan Keyes.
Posted by: Carol | February 07, 2009 at 08:34 AM
"There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know.”
Indeed...
Posted by: Jason | February 07, 2009 at 10:41 AM