But while the president preached unity, this year’s National Prayer Breakfast was surrounded by controversy. There were signs this event on the semi-official Washington calendar may no longer be able to serve as a safe forum in which a wide variety of religious and political leaders can unite their voices. The breakfasts began in 1953 and every president since Dwight Eisenhower has taken part.
Before the event, the leaders of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sent a letter to the White House and to congressional leaders calling for a boycott. They also urged C-SPAN not to televise the breakfast. Meanwhile, a coalition of gay-rights activists and religious liberals announced a series of alternative “American Prayer Hour” events in Washington and other cities nationwide.
Both groups focused intense criticism on The Fellowship, the nondenominational Christian organization that sponsors the prayer breakfast and similar networking events in Washington and around the world. The key is that numerous Ugandan leaders are active in Fellowship activities in that country, including the politician who introduced anti-gay legislation that includes capital punishment for some offenses.
I had the opportunity to listen to the speeches or addresses or whatever they were. While the Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, and the President were highly partisan, and co-chair Sen. Amy Klobuchar was annoying, Hillary Clinton’s address was actually very refreshing and seemed to be from the heart. I found her remarks on Mother Teresa to be interesting in that she noted that the Saint chastized her for her support of abortion, but then went on to tell how Mother Teresa effectively lobbied for orphaned children.