A year after Catholic Charities [forced to] end adoptions, Illinois [Catholic] governor [praises and prays with Muslims]
CWN – August 22, 2012
At an Eid ceremony that marked the end of Ramadan, Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois decried attacks on Muslims and lauded religious freedom.
Quinn, who knelt toward Mecca during the ceremony, called religious freedom “the most American and fundamental freedom that we have in our country.”
“The First Amendment of our Constitution says that everyone, everyone has the right to practice their religion and their faith without fear of intimidation,” he added.
At the ceremony, Quinn signed a bill permitting college students to take exams on alternate days when they conflict with a religious holiday.
Quinn’s remarks come a year after he signed civil-union legislation that led the state to end adoption and foster-care contracts with Catholic Charities, which refused to place children with same-sex couples. Quinn, a Catholic, has also been criticized by the state’s bishops for his support for abortion.
Additional sources for this story: See www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=15312
[His Excellency the Governor of Illinois is merely following the example of His Excellency the Chief Ecumenist at the USCCB, who in turn is merely following the example of His Excellency the Grand Caliph of Washington, DC]
USCCB committee head offers congratulations to Muslims at Ramadan’s end
CWN – August 20, 2012
The chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs has offered “a greeting of peace and my congratulations” on the occasion of Eid, the conclusion of Ramadan.
“Having worked with many of you over a long period of time and so having been a witness to the great trust that has been established in our creative work together, I would like to exhort us all to continue our endeavors in the hope of preparing a sure foundation for the coming generations of American Christians and Muslims,” said Auxiliary Bishop Denis Madden of Baltimore. “They look to us for guidance and as exemplars of the peace and harmony intrinsic to productive, positive interreligious work.”
Calling Ramadan “a time of fasting, prayer and spiritual renewal” and “a time to serve the less fortunate, a reminder of the obligations that people of all faiths have to each other,” President Barack Obama also issued a statement marking Eid.
Additional sources for this story: See www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=15282
[His Excellency the Governor is also following the example of His Holiness the Pope]