The Quebec government will appeal a ruling by a superior court judge that allows a Catholic high school in Montreal to drop a course on ethics and morality by the province.

Michelle Courchesne, education minister said the ruling of Quebec Superior Court Justice Gerard Dugre was “excessive.” Premier Jean Charest said there is a clear need to appeal, the National Post said.

Loyola High School, a Jesuit Catholic institution, disputed Quebec’s education department, which sought to impose a secular course on ethics and morality in place of their existing course which covers the same material, but from a Catholic perspective, CTV Montreal said.

The secular course, Ethics and Religious Culture, would cover a variety of religions including Judaism and Aboriginal spirituality, but from a more neutral point of view, the National Post said.

The course is required from grades 1 through 11, and it was drawn up after a 1997 constitutional amendment and a 2005 law, both of which eliminated denominational school boards and parents’ rights respectively to choose spiritual courses in schools, the National Post said.

Critics of the secular course which was implemented two years ago felt that it trumpeted moral relativism, which renders all belief systems on equal in footing, the National Post said.

Dugre issued the ruling and said imposition of the secular course is “totalitarian” in nature. He wrote, “In these times of respect of fundamental rights, of tolerance, of reasonable accommodations and of multiculturalism, the attitude adopted by the [Education] Department in the current matter is surprising,” the National Post said.

Dugre compared such imposition to that of the 1633 Inquisition when the Catholic Church placed Galileo under house arrest for teaching that the Earth revolves around the sun, the National Post said.

When asked to comment on the Quebec government’s intention to appeal, Paul Donovan, principal of the school, said debate was a necessary part of trying to pursue the common good, CTV Montreal said.

Marie Bourque of Quebec’s Catholic Parents Association said, “We find it a victory for democracy in Quebec, for democracy in education especially, for parental rights, for freedom of programs in education,” CTV Montreal said.

Jacques Darche, the lawyer for Loyola said, “Faith is omnipresent in this institution.  Before football games, they pray. Before a press conference, they pray. It’s quite bizarre that in the one course that you would expect to be a part of a Catholic Jesuit school, the religion program, you’re not allowed to talk about God, you’re not allowed to pray,” the National Post said.

Dugré said that the imposition by the Education Department of the course on the school, which runs against Catholic doctrine, would be a violation of the school’s freedom of religion which the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects, the National Post said.

Marie Bourque, vice-president of a Catholic association said, “This decision represents a great victory for democracy in education, for freedom of conscience and religion, for freedom in education and for parental rights,” the National Post said.

Despite a judge’s ruling that declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, special observations were held across the nation and in several places in the capital city including the Pentagon, the Cannon House Office Building and the steps of the US Capitol, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Rev. Franklin Graham, who had been disinvited to the Pentagon because of comments he had made regarding the Islamic faith after 911 nonetheless prayed on a sidewalk outside the building.  Graham is honorary chairman of the private National Day of Prayer Task Force.

However, President Brack Obama, whose administration on April 22 appealed the judge’s ruling and issued a National Day of Prayer proclamation, did not hold an interfaith observance at the White House, according to the SunGazette.

On April 15, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment.  However in her decision, Crabb said ceremonies could still be held pending appeals.

In observances at Williamsport-Lycoming County, Pennsylvania keynote speaker state Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen challenged Crabb’s argument centered on the separation of church and state, and alleged violation of the First Amendment, the SunGazette said.

Allen said, “I couldn’t find separation of church and state in the Constitution.” Regarding the First Amendment she cited the first part which says, “Congress shall make no laws establishing a religion” and said the founding fathers came to America to escape England, which had established a church and persecuted those who would not attend.  Allen then noted the second portion of the First Amendment clause which states: “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

James Dobson, who founded Focus on the Family and whose wife chairs the National Day of Prayer said the event puts a prayer covering over the nation and noted that since 1775 the first Continental Congress called for a national day of prayer.

Dobson noted that 34 out of 44 Presidents have called for a national day of prayer including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, George Herbert Walker Bush and George W. Bush, the New York News Today reported.

Dobson said, “How can something be unconstitutional when it was passed by both houses of Congress unanimously and signed by Ronald Reagan and Harry Truman and implemented by all those Presidents back through the years?”

Charles Haynes, a First Amendment scholar who specializes in religious liberty expects President Obama to succeed with his appeal.  He said a  judge could possibly cite a 1983 Supreme Court decision that upheld the right to legislative prayer on grounds that “the offering of prayer is a tolerable acknowledgment of beliefs widely held among the people of this country,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

After recent successive issues that have reached the courts over Christian symbols such as the cross and an army emblem, some are asking, “Are Christian symbols under attack?”

The most recent issue, as reported by the Associated Press (AP) involves an army emblem of a Colorado hospital.  The emblem contains a cross and the motto, “Pro deo et humanitate” or “For God and humanity.”

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has asked the Army to change the emblem of Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, Colorado noting it could violate the constitutional requirement for separation of church and state, the AP reported.

The AP said the MRFF is the same group that persuaded the Pentagon to rescind their invitation to evangelist Franklin Graham to speak on the May 6 National Day of Prayer, because in 2001 Graham had said that “Islam is evil.”

In a separate incident, a judge had ruled recently that the National Day of Prayer, which is an annual event that has been held since 1952 is unconstitutional.  The Obama administration expressed plans to appeal the ruling and the Justice department filed a formal notice of its plans for appeal, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

With regard to the hospital emblem, Lt. Col Steve Wollman said Fort Carson commanders will review the MRFF complaint.   However he noted that the motto on the emblem, approved in 1969 by the Army Institute of Heraldry, dates back to pre-Christian, Hippocratic times.  Hippocrates is renowned as the father of medicine, the AP said.

Wollman also said the cross with the spiked base was used by pilgrims to mark the ground of their campsite.  Mikey Weinstein, president of the MRFF said he filed his complaint on behalf of 43 people in Fort Carson.  However, Weinstein said the 43 did not want to be identified, according to the AP report.

In another incident, the Supreme Court (SC) overturned a federal court ruling which sought to remove a 75-year-old, seven foot tall cross from the Mojave National Park in California, the AP said.

The SC, through a slim 5-4 vote said the cross honored military veterans from WWI and furthermore, the land on which the cross stood on had already been transferred to private ownership.

Two similar cases are currently filed in the Federal courts.  One involves a 29-foot cross on Mt. Soledad, San Diego.  The other involves the state of Utah, which uses 12-foot high crosses that are placed along the roadside as memorials to honor deceased highway patrol officers, according to the AP.

The Supreme Court decision that overruled a lower court regarding the cross in the Mojave National Park noted that separation of church and state “does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm,’’ the Boston Globe reported.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation recently objected to an invitation that was sent to Reverend Franklin Graham to address the Pentagon on National Prayer Day.

The MRFF said they were objecting on behalf of members of the Pentagon’s Muslim community who wrote to the organization and objected to Graham’s invitation.

After the 2003 attacks of 9/11 Graham described Islam as “evil” and “wicked.”  In a forthcoming letter to the Wall Street Journal Graham wrote, “As a minister … I believe it is my responsibility to speak out against the terrible deeds that are committed as a result of Islamic teaching.”

President of the MRFF, Mikey Weinstein said in a letter that inviting evangelist Franklin Graham to speak at the National Day of Prayer on May 6 “would be like bringing someone in on national prayer day madly denigrating Christianity” or other religious groups.  It would also endanger American troops by “stirring up Muslim extremists.”

The MRFF’s Web site is headed by a quote by Weinstein which says, “When one proudly dons a U.S. military uniform, there is only one religious symbol: The American flag.  There is only one religious scripture:  The American constitution.  Finally there is only one religious faith: American patriotism.”

Weinstein also objected to the Pentagon’s “noxious” affiliation with the National Day of Prayer Task Force which is headed by Shirley Dobson, although he stressed he does not object to the Pentagon Chaplain’s Office hosting an NDP event.

Graham is the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham and president and CEO of both Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian international relief organization in Boone, N.C., and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, in Charlotte, N.C.

Franklin Graham at the podium and on the big screen at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Wash. in 2007. Credit:Flikr-publicjill

Graham, through a spokesman said, “As the father of a son serving in his fourth combat tour, I’d be glad to know someone was leading a prayer service at the National Day of Prayer, or any other day.”

The spokesman also said Graham will be a guest of the Pentagon and will speak only if he’s still invited.  A military spokeswoman said she was locating officials to respond to the criticism.

A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled last week that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional because it amounts to a call for religious action. The judge did not bar any observances until all appeals are exhausted.

The National Day of Prayer has been recognized and observed by every U.S. President since 1775.

The American Humanist Association (AHA) is at it again. The group recently embarked on a mission to replace the word “God” in the national motto “In God We Trust” with “Good” (see The Underground’s article Humanist Group Unveils “In Good We Trust” Billboards). Now they have set their sights on the National Day of Prayer, arguing instead for a “National Day of Reason,” according to CNS News.

The group’s movement started on the heels of last week’s federal court ruling that the National Day of Prayer was indeed unconstitutional because it violates the separation of church and state. U.S. District Court Judge Barbara B. Crabb wrote of the 1952 statute creating the National Day of Prayer that its “sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function,” according to the official AHA web site.

White House spokespersons have reported that President Obama will still recognize the traditional observance of the National Day of Prayer on May 6, as the court’s appeals process will not yet be exhausted by that time.

AHA Director Roy Speckhardt disagrees with the president’s decision.

“The government should not be directing citizens to pray,” he said. “In addition to being unconstitutional, it’s also specifically offensive to people who don’t believe in a god and are made to feel excluded by the observance.”

Historically, there have been several recorded National Days of Prayer, even before the 1952 ruling establishing the observance we now recognize as a nation. In 1775, the Continental Congress marked a day to designate “a time of prayer in forming a new nation.”

Former U.S. President John Adams would later declare May 9, 1798 “a day of solemn humiliation, fasting and prayer.” He asked Americans to pray “that our country may be protected from all the dangers which threaten it.”

The National Day of Prayer became a requirement of U.S. presidents’ recognition when, on April 17, 1952, former President Harry S. Truman signed a bill declaring that all subsequent presidents observe the day.

In recent years, the National Day of Prayer was reintroduced to the nation due, in part, to the efforts of the Reverend Billy Graham and certain members of both the House and the Senate. Together, these men implemented a joint resolution to mark an annual National Day of Prayer, “on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.”

Peter Spriggs, senior fellow for policy studies at Family Research Council told CNSNews.com, “The American Humanist Association and their allied groups have every right to promote a new celebration if they want to – and if they can persuade people to participate voluntarily, that’s fine, but I don’t think they have a right to do away with a long-standing tradition that is deeply rooted in our nation’s history – which is calling the people to prayer.”

Spriggs also added, “[The National Day of Prayer] is inclusive of the vast majority of Americans who believe in a Supreme Being and who do pray, and it is inclusive of the vast majority of Americans throughout the history of our country –and the vast majority of the leaders of our country through our history.”

Of Judge Barabra Crabb, Spriggs concluded, “Judge Crabb was inferring that she found something in the Constitution that every president and Congress since 1775 has not.”

The case is expected to have its day in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Attorneys with the Christian legal firm Alliance Defense Fund urged President Barack Obama to appeal the decision of a federal judge’s ruling that National Prayer Day is unconstitutional recently.

Before thousands of guests, including a dozen foreign leaders, President Barack Obama called for greater understanding and cooperation among people of all faiths at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 5, 2008.

The ADF lawyers made their plea after U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb struck down a federal statute creating the “National Day of Prayer.” According to Crabb, the statute connotes endorsement and encouragement of a particular religious exercise.

But ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster argues that the national prayer day is “America’s heritage” and “belongs to Americans.”  He added, “The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith – and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance.”

National Prayer Day (NPD) was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.  Although it has been celebrated yearly since then, a lawsuit against NPD was filed in October 2008 by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).

The FFRF is a Madison, Wisconsin group that was founded in 1976.  They are pledged to promote separation of church and state, and to educate the public on “nontheism”.

The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State,  praised Judge Crabb’s ruling saying, “This decision is a tremendous victory for religious liberty.  Congress has no business telling Americans when or how to pray.”

Lynn added, “The Constitution forbids the government to meddle in religious matters. Decisions about worship should be made by individuals without direction from elected officials. That’s what freedom is all about.”

Ever since 1952, US presidents have always set an annual National Day of Prayer.  Since 1988, the presidents have always designated the first Thursday of May as the National Day of Prayer.

Last year, President Obama issued a proclamation designating the first Thursday of May as the National Day of Prayer, and prayed privately.  Despite the present ruling, Obama still intends to recognize the day this year on May 6.

Shirley Dobson, chair of the National Day of Prayer Task Force said it is imperative “now more than ever before” to pray.  Dobson has organized thousands of local prayer events throughout the country, including gatherings in Washington, D.C., with government leaders.

Sources:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100416/ts_csm/294988;_ylt=AkZQP7YV39sLuNafx7pe2jg7Xs8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJldDE4NGhjBGFzc2V0A2NzbS8yMDEwMDQxNi8yOTQ5ODgEcG9zAzE2BHNlYwN5bl9wYWdpbmF0ZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA2ZlZGVyYWxqdWRnZQ–

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100416/obama-urged-to-appeal-nat-l-prayer-day-ruling/index.html