DOJ Defunds Youth Programs that Reference God
The Department of Justice has summarily removed federal funding from two Louisiana youth programs because a local official refused to sign a pledge stating he would require the programs to ban mentions of God.
Julian Whittington, the sheriff of Bossier Parish, LA, told Fox News that Obama's Justice Office of Civil Rights de-funded the Young Marines chapter and another youth program over mentions of religion. In the case of the Young Marine program, chartered in 1965, the funding was cut off because the group features an oath that mentions "God." In the other case, it was because a program for at-risk youth featured a voluntary, student-led prayer session as one of its activities.Sheriff Whittington says that the DOJ withdrew a combined $30,000 from the programs because the groups refused to remove God from their activities. The sheriff said this was evidence of the government's "aggression and infringement of our religious freedoms."
Whittington told Fox, "We were informed that these are unacceptable, inherently religious activities and the Department of Justice would not be able to fund the programs if it continued. They wanted a letter from me stating that I would no longer have voluntary prayer and I would also have to remove ‘God’ from the Young Marine’s oath."
The oath from the Young Marine organization reads:
From this day forward, I sincerely promise, I will set an example for all other youth to follow and I shall never do anything that would bring disgrace or dishonor upon God, my Country and its flag, my parents, myself or the Young Marines. These I will honor and respect in a manner that will reflect credit upon them and myself. Semper FidelisBoth the U.S. Army enlistment oath and its commissioning oath end with "so help me God."
As to the at-risk youth program, Whittington said,"We're not promoting any specific religion, this is just voluntary prayer, mention of God, how offensive and bad can that be?"
In response to the DOJ’s message insisting that he sign the anti-God pledge, Sheriff Whittington sent a letter of his own to LA Governor Bobby Jindal.
"As a Christian, Sheriff and American citizen, I am writing to express my frustration and concern over the persistent aggression and infringement of our religious freedoms which have been imposed upon the law enforcement grant programs, specifically related to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement,” wrote the Sheriff.
In cutting off the funding, the DOJ claimed it was a violation of Church and State rules for the government to fund any group that mentions God.
Fox's Todd Starnes says that, "Both youth programs have been hailed as a successful way to reach at-risk young people. Since 2002 more than 1,000 young people have graduated from the program, directed by a Bossier Parish deputy who is a former U.S. Marine."
Like Sheriff Whittington, Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) was troubled by the DOJ's actions.
"There is a very wide effort coming out of the administration that seeks to stamp out freedom of expressions – particularly religion and especially freedom of Christian expression," Fleming said. "They are willing to throw the youth overboard and remove the funding just in the name of making this an atheist, agnostic, secular organization."Sheriff Whittington is not taking this lying down. "When something is not right and you know it’s not right and you keep bowing down, nothing is ever going to change," he said.
"They (DOJ) don’t want anything to have any sort of religious support – even down to prayer," Fleming said. "It’s sad and it’s inconsistent with the intentions of the framers of the Constitution."
¿Peligra el Estado laico?
Cuando las autoridades expresan su fe en los actos públicos
San Cristóbal de las Casas, (Zenit.org) Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel
SITUACIONESEstamos en fin de cursos en las escuelas, privadas y públicas. Muchos nos solicitan una Misa de acción de gracias, sobre todo quienes terminan una etapa, desde kínder hasta universidad. La piden los alumnos, los mismos maestros o los padres de familia. ¿Esto es contrario al laicismo de artículo tercero constitucional, en que se afirma que la educación pública debe ser laica?
En varias comunidades, no sólo indígenas, cuando una autoridad civil va a iniciar su cargo, es costumbre que participe en una celebración religiosa en forma oficial, no privada. En otros países, juramentan sobre la Biblia, van a un Te Deum en las fiestas nacionales, o manifiestan su fe religiosa, y nadie se extraña por ello.
ILUMINACION
¿Qué pasa en nuestro país? Las leyes sobre la materia son bastante restrictivas. Dice la Ley de Asociaciones Religiosas y Culto Público: “Las autoridades federales, estatales y municipales no podrán asistir con carácter oficial a ningún acto religioso de culto público, ni a actividad que tenga motivos o propósitos similares” (Art. 25). Y su respectivo Reglamento: “Se exceptúa de lo previsto en el párrafo anterior, al servidor público que asista a título personal a los actos religiosos de culto público o actividades que tengan motivos o propósitos similares. En dichos actos o actividades, el servidor público en ningún momento podrá ostentarse o hacer manifiesto su carácter oficial, ni actuar en el ejercicio de las atribuciones que legalmente le corresponden. En caso de incumplimiento a lo dispuesto en este artículo, el servidor público de que se trata, será sujeto de las responsabilidades y sanciones previstas en las leyes aplicables” (Art. 28).
Se acaba de aprobar, después de varias inexplicables resistencias, esta reforma al artículo 24 de nuestra Constitución: “Toda persona tiene derecho a la libertad de convicciones éticas, de conciencia y de religión, y a tener o adoptar, en su caso, la de su agrado. Esta libertad incluye el derecho de participar, individual o colectivamente, tanto en público como en privado, en las ceremonias, devociones o actos del culto respectivo, siempre que no constituyan un delito o falta penados por la ley. Nadie podrá utilizar los actos públicos de expresión de esta libertad con fines políticos, de proselitismo o de propaganda política”.
Esto no es nuevo, sino apenas la aplicación de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, firmada en 1948, que en su artículo 18 establece: “Toda persona tiene derecho a la libertad de pensamiento, de conciencia y de religión; este derecho incluye la libertad de cambiar de religión o de creencia, así como la libertad de manifestar su religión o su creencia, individual y colectivamente, tanto en público como en privado, por la enseñanza, la práctica, el culto y la observancia”.
En esta Declaración de la ONU, ratificada por nuestro país, no se hace restricción alguna para que las autoridades civiles manifiesten su propia fe, en público y en privado.
COMPROMISOS
Ya es tiempo de poner nuestras leyes más acordes con los tratados internacionales, y no seguir haciendo una dicotomía entre la vida pública y la privada en las autoridades. Esa distinción es una ficción legal; en la práctica, no es posible separarlas. Lo que no debe permitirse es usar la religión con fines partidistas, pues los partidos parten y dividen a los pueblos; la Iglesia está para unir a los que están partidos y divididos.
Cruz: Democrats Don't Care About Infanticide
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) denounced Democrats for not caring about infanticide in a speech to the National Right to Life convention on Friday in Texas.
According to LifeNews, Cruz said Senate Democrats do not think abortionists who kill born-alive babies like Kermit Gosnell and Douglas Kerpen, a late-term abortion doctor in Houston, are doing anything wrong.Cruz said he was proud to support a bill in the Senate that would ban abortions after 20 weeks, which did not make it to the floor, and compared his fight in the Senate to the fight to ban such abortions in Texas, which Democrats, led by State Senator Wendy Davis filibustered last week. Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry has called another special session on Monday in order to get the bill passed.
“Democrats stood together embracing the policy of abortion no matter what the consequences,” Cruz said, according to LifeNews. “When Austin Democrats filibustered, they were filibustering to protect late-term abortions.”
He blasted Senate Democrats for defending abortions up until birth and not taking Gosnell's clinic--and others like it--seriously.
He said Senate Democrats wanted a resolution that condemned unsanitary health clinics," but were only "fine with any resolution as long as it didn’t mention abortion. A clinic passing on a disease in their minds is morally equivalent to Gosnell killing babies outside their mothers womb.”
Cruz said he was also proud that Texas "led the states" while he was Solicitor General on banning partial-birth abortions and "applauded the courts for defending Texas’ right to de-fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business."
Cruz reportedly also spoke about forced abortions in China and "lamented that pro-abortion groups don’t speak up more against the grisly practice that has killed millions of babies in China." He also "bashed President Barack Obama for repeatedly voting against the Born Alive bill in Illinois, which would stop infanticides."
He then "condemned news outlets that ignored Gosnell" and thanked pro-life advocates for not only pressuring the mainstream media to cover the Gosnell trial but to fight for pro-life causes "despite the ridicule of the mainstream media."
“Without life there is no liberty, there is no pursuit of happiness. The ability to take life is the ultimate power and the ultimate deprivation of our God-given rights," Cruz said. “I have been honored to have the opportunity to defend life.”
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