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Skriven 2005-06-21 23:33:20 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0506213) for Tue, 2005 Jun 21
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President Addresses Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 21, 2005

President Addresses Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting
Via Satellite

President's Remarks
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11:55 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Bobby, thank you very much for your kind introduction. And
thank you for letting me address this convention. I'm so honored to be able
to speak to you from Washington, D.C. And Bobby, I appreciate you. I
appreciate you for wearing our nation's uniform and for earning the Bronze
Star and the Purple Heart as an Army officer. I know you share in my
sentiments when I say that we are grateful for the goodness and courage of
the men and women of our military. We're grateful for the support and
sacrifices of our military families. And I want to thank the Southern
Baptists' campaign to send out postcards to our troops in the field. I
appreciate what you're doing. Our men and women appreciate even more. They
appreciate your prayerful support as they protect our liberty.

Laura and I also want to -- at least I want to tell you, on behalf of
Laura, that we really appreciate your prayers, the prayers of our Baptist
friends that have sustained us and uplifted us. I cannot tell you the
number of times Americans have said to me, "Mr. President, I pray for you
and your family." And I tell them the same thing I'm telling you now --
that is the greatest gift anyone can give to me and Laura, and thank you
for your prayers.

From the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, the men and women who
founded this nation in freedom relied on prayer to protect and preserve it.
In 1789, President George Washington called America's Baptists the "firm
friends" of liberty. Today, another President George W. thanks you --
because more than two centuries later, you remain firm in your dedication
to God and country.

You believe that the ideal of religious liberty is a free church in a free
state. And you know that freedom is a divine gift that carries serious
responsibilities. We are called by our Creator to use this gift of freedom
to build a more compassionate society -- where families are strong, life is
valued, and the poor and the sick can count on the love and help of their
neighbors.

Building a more compassionate society starts with preserving the source of
compassion -- the family. Strong families teach children to live moral
lives and help us pass down the values that define a caring society. And
Southern Baptists are practicing compassion by defending the family and the
sacred institution of marriage. Because marriage is a sacred institution
and the foundation of society, it should not be re-defined by local
officials and activist judges. For the good of families, children, and
society, I support a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of
marriage.

And for the good of our legal system, I will also continue to nominate
federal judges who faithfully interpret the law and do not legislate from
the bench. Every judicial nominee deserves an up or down vote on the floor
of the United States Senate, and I thank you for your strong support of the
fair-minded jurists I have named to the federal courts.

Building a more compassionate society also depends on building a culture of
life. A compassionate society protects and defends its most vulnerable
members at every stage of life. A compassionate society supports the
principles of ethical science. When we seek to improve human life, we must
always preserve human dignity, so that's why we stand against cloning. A
compassionate society rejects partial-birth abortion. And I signed a law to
end that brutal practice and my administration will continue working to
defend that law. To advance a culture of life, I was proud to sign the
Born-Alive Infants Protection Act and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

A compassionate society will not sanction the creation of life only to
destroy it. At the White House I recently met with 21 remarkable families,
each of whom either adopted or gave up for adoption frozen embryos that
remained after fertility treatments. The children I met confirm our shared
belief that America can pursue the tremendous possibilities of science and
at the same time remain an ethical and compassionate society. With your
continued dedication and work, we will continue building a culture of life
in America, and America will be better off for it.

Finally, building a more compassionate society requires that we mobilize
our nation's armies of compassion to help the poor, the sick, and those who
hurt. America's faith-based institutions change hearts every day. And we
depend on the work of these organizations to bring hope to harsh places.
Yet for too long, governments have discriminated against faith-based
programs -- just because they have a cross or a Star of David or a crescent
on the wall. And that's why I signed an executive order that said that
faith-based groups providing social services are entitled to the same
access to federal money as other groups. I am proud that we have now opened
billions of dollars in grant money to competition that includes our
faith-based charities. For example, my administration awarded College Park
Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida $5.8 million to build 68 homes for
low-income seniors.

Because faith-based groups should never have to forfeit their religious
liberty to get federal dollars -- and that's an important concept -- we
want your help, we want your love, but at the same time, you do not have to
forget the mission of faith or ignore the mission of faith that calls you
to action in the first place. And that's why the executive order I signed
should be codified into federal law. Congress needs to pass charitable
choice legislation to forever guarantee equal treatment for our faith-based
organizations when they compete for federal funds.

Southern Baptists are the soldiers in the armies of compassion at home and
abroad. You're bringing hope to the continent of Africa, and I thank you
for that. In Uganda, Southern Baptists have emphasized abstinence and
helped as that country reduced the percentage of people infected with HIV
by more than two thirds in less than a decade and a half. And in Sudan and
other countries across Africa, the Samaritan's Purse ministry provides food
and water and medical care and education to suffering people.

Helping Africa is a mission we share. I recently announced $674 million in
emergency humanitarian aid to Africa. We and our African partners have
together brought lifesaving AIDS treatment to more than 200,000 people in
sub-Saharan Africa, we're on track to meeting a five-year goal of treating
nearly two million African adults and children for HIV/AIDS.

Service to others is a long Baptist tradition. One of the most popular
hymns in the Baptist hymnal cries out to the Lord, "Thy compassions, they
fail not." The compassion of Southern Baptists toward your neighbors in
America and around the world has helped heal broken hearts. Where there is
despair, you provide hope, and you help those who need love find love. As
you work to feed the hungry and provide shelter for the homeless, you are
changing America and the world for the better -- one heart, one soul, and
one conscience at a time.

I've come to your convention via video to thank you for all you do. Thank
you for your love for your country. Thank you for your love for your
neighbor. May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless the United
States of America.

END 12:08 P.M. EDT

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