Group sues Bush officials over 'faith-based' plan
WASHINGTON — A Wisconsin group that opposes government endorsement of religion has launched the broadest legal attack to date on President Bush's plan to fund social services through religious charities.
The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation filed an eight-page complaint in federal court on June 17. It named Jim Towey, director of the White House office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, as well as officials of faith-based offices in nine other executive-branch agencies, as defendants.
The suit claimed Towey and the other administration officials have violated the First Amendment's ban on government endorsement of religion “by using federal taxpayer appropriations to support activities that endorse religion and give faith-based organizations preferred positions as political insiders.” The complaint cited the dozens of conferences the agencies have hosted around the country for faith-based social-services providers.
It also claimed the agencies' practice of providing “capacity-building” assistance to churches and other religious groups to enable them to better compete with secular groups for government grants shows favoritism toward religion. (ABP)
Kerry voices support for stem-cell research
WASHINGTON — The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee voiced support for federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research June 21. In a campaign appearance, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry said that, if elected president, he would lift restrictions imposed by President Bush on federal grants to fund the research.
Many scientists believe stem cells taken from human embryos hold the key to creating new treatments for many terminal diseases. Polls show public support for the research has increased following recent calls by former first lady Nancy Reagan for Bush to ease the restrictions. While some scientists have theorized that stem-cells could provide the key to curing the Alzheimer's disease that afflicted Reagan's late husband, recent studies suggest otherwise.
Many religious conservatives consider stem-cell research to be tantamount to abortion, because the process used to extract the stem cells destroys the embryos.
In a Denver campaign speech, Kerry said Bush was driven by ideology rather than scientific evidence in his decision to limit the research. “We need a president who will once again embrace our tradition of looking toward the future and new discoveries with hope based on scientific facts, not fear,” Kerry said, according to the Associated Press. (ABP)
Congress members attend 'coronation' for Moon
WASHINGTON — Several members of Congress have come under fire after recent news reports revealed their participation in a March 23 Capitol Hill “coronation” of South Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon.
At the ceremony, Moon was presented with an ornate crown and robe, and declared himself “humanity's savior, messiah, returning lord and true parent.”
Moon is head of the Unification Church, which is considered by most mainstream Christian leaders to be a cult. Nonetheless, he has been a generous donor to many Religious Right causes, such as Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Moon also is the owner of the conservative Washington Times newspaper and the United Press International news service.
However, the ceremony was apparently a bipartisan affair. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) carried Moon's crown, and Sen. Mark Dayton (R-Minn.) also attended. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) gave introductory remarks, and several other members of Congress were listed as co-hosts for the event. All reportedly denied knowing that they would be participating in a coronation ceremony for Moon.
The ceremony was recently brought to light by several news outlets, including the Washington Post and the online magazine Salon. (ABP)
CBF leader honored for hunger work
WASHINGTON — A longtime leader in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has received a special award from a nationwide Christian anti-hunger group. Bread for the World honored Patricia Ayres of Austin, Texas, and 29 others from across the country as “Hunger Heroes” at a banquet celebrating the organization's 30th anniversary June 21 in Washington.
Ayres is a former CBF moderator and a deacon at the First Baptist Church of Austin. She has been involved in the anti-hunger group from its beginning, serving six terms — more than any other person — on Bread for the World's board. She also has served four times as the board's chairperson. Her family's foundation has also repeatedly underwritten Bread for the World projects, including the organization's Hunger Report newsletter.
Shawnda Eibl, a Bread for the World spokesperson, said Ayres' “activism on behalf of hungry people has galvanized the involvement of many others in Bread for the World's local group in the San Antonio-Austin area.” Eibl also said that Ayres and her husband, Bob, “have provided wise counsel about the endowments” of the organization and its educational arm, and that they “have also hosted a number of luncheons and dinners to introduce prominent business and civic leaders to Bread for the World.” (ABP)
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