At the 62nd annual prayer breakfast, President
Barack Obama confirmed his faith in Christ and took a strong stand for
religious freedom around the world, encouraging prayers for imprisoned pastors
in Iran and North Korea.
The First Lady and Vice-President Biden attended the
traditional gathering held at the Washington Hilton, along with foreign
dignitaries such as President Martelly from Haiti and President Nishani from
Albania. Rep. Janice Hahn (D-Calif.) and Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)
co-chaired this year's breakfast.
Bethany Hamilton, the evangelical surfer who
tragically lost an arm in a shark attack, read the story of the Good Samaritan
from the Book of Luke and the well-known Scripture from Ephesians about how
wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.
President Obama recalled the significance of his church involvement in
Chicago. "I'm grateful not only because I was broke and the church
fed me, but because it led to everything else. It led me to embrace Jesus
Christ as my Lord and Savior. It led me to Michelle - the love of my life
- and it blessed us with two extraordinary daughters. It led me to public
service. And the longer I serve, especially in moments of trial or doubt,
the more thankful I am of God's guiding hand."
The President spoke out against the "modern slavery of human
trafficking, an outrage that we must all join together to end."
He said he is especially looking forward to his return-visit to the
Vatican next month to meet Pope Francis, "whose message about caring for
the 'least of these' is one that I hope all of us heed." President
Obama said he was inspired by the Pope's "words and deeds, his humility,
his mercy and his missionary impulse to serve the cause of social justice."
A major theme of the President's talk related to religious freedom
internationally. "Around the world freedom of religion is under
threat," he noted.
He said freedom of religion is central to human dignity, "the right
of every person to practice their faith how they choose, to change their faith
if they choose, or to practice no faith at all, and to do this free from
persecution and fear.
"History shows that nations that uphold the rights of their people
- including the freedom of religion - are ultimately more just and more
peaceful and more successful. Nations that do not uphold these rights sow
the bitter seeds of instability and violence and extremism. So freedom of
religion matters to our national security," he said to applause.
The President said that promoting religious freedom is a key objective
of U.S. foreign policy. "I'm proud that no nation on Earth
does more to stand up for the freedom of religion around the world than the
United States of America."
In President Obama's previous meetings with Chinese leaders, he said he
stressed upholding universal rights, including religious freedom for
Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, and Uighur Muslims. He also mentioned his
concerns regarding Burma, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Coptic Christians in Egypt.
During the peace negotiations currently being conducted by Secretary
Kerry between Israelis and Palestinians, Pres. Obama said "we've made
clear that lasting peace will require freedom of worship and access to holy
sites for all faiths."
He said his administration also opposes certain blasphemy and defamation
of religion measures, "which are promoted sometimes as an expression of
religion, but, in fact, all too often can be used to suppress religious
minorities."
President Obama encouraged prayers for Kenneth Bae, the Christian
missionary held in North Korea for 15 months, and also sentenced to 15 years of
hard labor. "The United States will continue to do everything in our
power to secure his release because Kenneth Bae deserves to be free," he
said.
"We pray for Pastor Saeed Abedini. He's been held in Iran for
more than 18 months, sentenced to eight years in prison on charges relating to
his Christian beliefs. And as we continue to work for his freedom, today,
again, we call on the Iranian government to release Pastor Abedini so he can
return to the loving arms of his wife and children in Idaho."
Keynote speaker Rajiv Shah, the USAID Administrator, shared a story of
his visit to a Somali refugee camp with Jill Biden two years ago. They
encountered a mother who carried each of her two children in an attempt to
escape famine.
She became so weak she could only carry one child. "She looked down
at her two children and she said a prayer-then she made the excruciating
decision to leave one of them behind so she could save the other," he
said. "Were they somehow lesser than our sons and daughters? Did their
fathers love them less? Did their mothers? Did God?"
Source: crossmap.christianpost.com
