Press release: "Christian group ORDERED TO STOP PRAYING on sidewalk in DC by Feds"

[Bluebear]

As others kneel in prayer, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney tells a Library of Congress police officer that the group is not breaking the law and not blocking access to the library.


Contact: Christian Defense Coalition, 202-547-1735, 540-538-4741 cell



WASHINGTON, Mar. 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Christian Defense Coalition was sponsoring a public celebration of The Stations of the Cross when they were ordered to leave a public sidewalk in front of the Library of Congress while they were kneeling in prayer.

The group had been granted a permit by the United States Capitol Police and they were not blocking pedestrian traffic on the public sidewalk.

The Coalition calls the incident a trampling of the First Amendment and a gross violation of protecting religious expression in the public square.

Coalition Director, Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, wonders why anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint the United States Capitol Building with no consequences, while peaceful Christians were ordered to leave a public sidewalk for praying.

The Christian Defense Coalition is now in discussion with lawyers at the American Center for Law and Justice to consider all their legal options and ensure religious freedom is protected in the nation's capital.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, comments, "One of the cornerstones of our democracy is the right of every America to peacefully express their views in the public square free from government interference and harassment. All citizens, regardless of their faith traditions, should be able to publicly express them with the full assurance that their beliefs will not be trampled or crushed by public officials or law enforcement. Sadly, that was not the case yesterday in Washington, D.C.

"It is extremely troubling when American citizens are told by federal law enforcement officials that they are not allowed to pray on a public sidewalk and they must 'move along' or face the consequences. The Christian Defense Coalition is in the process of considering all our legal options and will continue to work diligently to ensure that the First Amendment and free speech rights are protected in the public square."

See a news article and photos from the event

For more information or interviews contact:
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney at 202.547.1735 Cell: 540.538.4741

[donheld]

1. Christian group ORDERED TO STOP PRAYING on sidewalk in DC by GOD

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6: 5, 6

[lvx35]

2. Sounds like BS to me.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, wonders why anti-war protesters were allowed to spray paint the United States Capitol Building with no consequences, while peaceful Christians were ordered to leave a public sidewalk for praying.

it must be the Bush controlled government trying to make itself look bad by permitting those peace protesters to get away with murder.

I wonder how repubs swallowed the victim stuff even they controlled every branch of government, or even now that dems have only a tiny fingernail in the door.

[Maddy McCall]

3. If you have to walk around them, then they're blocking access.

Put 'em in the "free speech zone" out by the reflecting pool.

[Richard Steele]

4. Um, didn't that "paint spraying" incident they mention turn out to be a RW myth?

I don't have use of the "search" function at the moment,
but I seem to recall that DUers who looked into it didn't
find any evidence it actually happened, or any witnesses
who said they saw any such spray paint.

That issue aside, if they had a permit and weren't impeding
anyone, I'd HYPOTHETICALLY say they shouldn't have been removed.

But I have a feeling that isn't the whole story. Because it
almost never is. When one of these publicity-seeking "Christian"
groups gets "persecuted" like this, it always seems to turn out
that they DELIBERATELY PROVOKED the response they got as a
publicity stunt.

[SoCalDem]

5. Looney is as Looney Does

My guess is that these people would NEVER be interrupted for praying ....









IN THEIR FREAKING CHURCHES :)

They will say that praying is not illegal, but neither is bathing, but if they stripped down and started lathering and hosing each other down, they would be arrested too..

[Bluebear]

10. Of course, when Muslim imams prayed at Minneapolis airport all hell broke loose.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/12/01/muslims_seek_prayer_room_at_airport/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News

And they were only doing their daily prayers, not some showboat routine like this is.

[spoony]

17. Come now.

This was more of a spectacle than ritualistic prayer in an airport? Okay.

By and by, those imams will probably be successful in court, as should this group if it sues.

[Bluebear]

19. Yes. It was.

Because I think the Christian "Defense" group in question wanted to be "persecuted" and was hunting for a fight, as is their general wont.

[azurnoir]

6. Oh no they've violated Christian rights again

at least that's how it smells to me.:sarcasm:

[pnwmom]

8. Christians have the same civil rights as every other American.

If they had a valid permit, and they were complying with its terms, they should have been permitted to stay.

[azurnoir]

12. true but its become a bit more "animal farm "then that

In the "four legs good, two legs better" sense. this is an article from Salon about how the civil rights department of the federal government has been remade under our current administration and skewed towards christian rights and away from its more traditional concerns.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/30/civil_rights/

[pnwmom]

7. If they did have a permit, they should have been permitted to stay.

I think, if the facts as stated are correct, they have a valid point.

If they were praying for peace, wouldn't we support them? And, by the way, how do we know they weren't?

[tkmorris]

9. You may be correct, but........

The "facts as stated" all originate from the pov of those who were praying. I didn't see any comment from the police or anyone else explaining why they were asked to stop. This by itself makes it suspect.

[Bluebear]

11. Ecch, Christian "Defense" coalition, fresh from the Terri Schiavo spectacular

Right, they were praying for peace.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christian_Defense_Coalition

[Breeze54]

13. Not so fast! lmao

This is a laugh and a half!! :)

BUT they may be doing the Peace Movement a Favor!!

--------------------

The Christian Defense Coalition . . .

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christian_Defense_Coalition

Headlines

Rev. Pat Mahoney was formerly with the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue
and is now executive director of the Christian Defense Coalition, "an informal
but growing network of conservative, religious and disability organizations who,
with the click of a computer mouse, are enlisting hundreds of thousands of people
in Bob and Mary Schindler's fight to keep their daughter Terri Schiavo alive."

-----------------------

Christians Gather in D.C. to Protest War

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070317/war-protest-christians

SARAH KARUSH | AP | March 17, 2007 09:53 AM EST

WASHINGTON —

Thousands of Christians prayed for peace at an anti-war service Friday night at the
Washington National Cathedral, kicking off a weekend of protests around the country
to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq.

Afterward, participants marched with battery-operated faux candles through snow and
wind toward the White House, where police began arresting protesters shortly before
midnight. Protest guidelines require demonstrators to continue moving while on the
White House sidewalk.

"We gave them three warnings, and they broke the guidelines," said Lt. Scott Fear.
"There's an area on the White House sidewalk where you have to keep moving."

About 100 people crossed the street from Lafayette Park _ where thousands of protesters
were gathered _ to demonstrate on the White House sidewalk late Friday.

Police began cuffing them and putting them on buses to be taken for processing.

=================

All's fair in LOVE and WAR??? Right??

Right??

Those Anti-Choice demo's do have a right to say what they think....

AS DOES CODE PINK AND THE OCCUPATION PROJECT!!!

:rofl:

Clash of two 'similar' worlds... How poetic! ;)

See??? There really IS justice!!! ;)


And 'maybe' the cops want to prove they aren't in b***'s pocket..anymore! ;)

Or on his payroll or they could still be liars!!

[pnwmom]

16. Actually, that second group is the one I was thinking of.

The group that has been protesting the war. We would support them, I assume.

As I said, if any group has a permit for a demonstration of any kind, they should be allowed to proceed under the terms of the permit.

[Breeze54]

20. Don't Assume! We SHOULD be supporting them!!!

"A lot of the rhetoric that we hear coming from Christians has been dominated by
the religious right and has been strong advocacy for the war," Pattison said.
"That's just not the way I read my Gospel."

The ecumenical coalition that organized the event, Christian Peace Witness for Iraq,
distributed 3,200 tickets for the service in the cathedral, with two smaller churches
hosting overflow crowds. The cathedral appeared to be packed, although sleet and snow
prevented some from attending.

"This war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong _ and was from the beginning,"
the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, one of the event's sponsors,
said toward the end of the service to cheers and applause.

"This war is ... an offense against God."

In his speech, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church,
lashed out at Congress for being "too morally inept to intervene" to stop the war, but even
more harshly against President Bush.

"Mr. Bush, my Christian brother, we do need a surge in troops.
We need a surge in the nonviolent army of the Lord," he said.
"We need a surge in conscience and a surge in activism and a surge in truth-telling."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070317/war-protest-christians

[Richard Steele]

27. You know how I can tell I spend too much time at DU?

I saw the phrase, "battery-operated faux candles" and
instantly thought, "they were using FoxNews candles?" :silly:

Goodnight DU! :hi:

[spoony]

14. Cops usually aren't given

the benefit of the doubt here, but this is an exception because they rate just above Christians, who aren't to be trusted at any cost (even if they claim to be for peace!) :crazy:

[Breeze54]

21. Fuck the cops!! Freedom of Speech LIVES On!!!

It is every USA citizens right to assemble and protest!!!!

Fuck the permits!! :grr:

But even if some stupid, elected rethug decided demo's need permits?

Then the permits MUST be honored by the cops!

[Random_Australian]

22. Christians? No. The cops probably ARE Christians. Bah.

What, did you think that only atheists signed up to be cops or something?

What an odd view you have.

Finally, the "Christian Newswire" reported Arnold Schwarznegger's signing of an anti-discrimination (act?) as "Christianity was OUTLAWED by Arnold today" because it was their deeply held beliefs to fire gay people.

So please, check your assumptions.

[spoony]

23. That view has been forged

over many a long night wondering at the thinking of some people online. When Christians pray for peace, I don't get why they must automatically be dismissed as pulling a publicity stunt, being insincere, being otherwise sinisterly motivated, etc...

[Random_Australian]

26. Eh? I'll admit they were probably as sincere as anything; but that doesn't

change the fact that the "Christian Newswire" is not a good source by any stretch of the imagination.

In this there are two sides, on one side, people, on the other side, people. I'm saying the newswire is an awful source and the cops may well have been doing something waaaaaay less sinister.

And for what it is worth, your generalisations about what people think of Christians in the very least are a long way away from what I think, and quite frankly, I don't even think it is a very realistic attitude.

Bah. Now I've gotta go check and see if people do. Yes, I'm the kind of person who takes their own advice, don't look so stunned.

[Judi Lynn]

15. It would be a miracle if these groups started treating their fellow human beings respectfully,

and put aside their childish, cheap, completely unworthy theatrics. Time for them to grow the #### up. Time waits for no one.

2 quick google grabs on Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, their brilliant, deep, awe inspiring leader:

January 31, 2007
Christian Defense Coalition Takes Credit for Declining Murder Rate in DC
Last summer, when Washington, DC was suffering through a spate of murders, the Christian Defense Coalition responded by sponsoring “six days of around the clock prayer vigils under a large tent on the National Mall, from July 21 to July 26, seeking God to reduce the crime rate in the nation’s capital over the next six months.”

Following the week-long vigil, the CDC announced that “there were no murders in Washington” during that time period, but then issued a correction stating that there had actually been one.

Six months later, the CDC has returned to announce that its vigil was a rousing success:

The Christian Defense Coalition is delighted to report that there were 27% less murders in the final five months of 2006 compared with final five months of 2005.

The Coalition encourages churches across the nation to begin to reach out in public prayer regarding pressing social concerns facing their local communities.

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, comments, “The Christian Defense Coalition promised at the end of July we would announce the numbers concerning Washington, D.C.’s murder rate for the final five months of 2006. We are delighted to report, after a season of concentrated and regular prayer, there was drop in the murder rate of 27%.

CDC initially said it was seeking to reduce the “crime rate in the nation’s capital over the next six months,” though now it looks as if they have retroactively decided to cut it to five months – maybe because the DC murder rate in January is up 10% over last year.

Incidentally, Mahoney failed to note that the murder rate in DC has dropped every year since 2002 and has dropped 65% since its high in 1991.
(snip/...)

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/individuals/patrick_mahoney/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

01/11/2005
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, sit down...

~snip~
This is comical and sad all at once. Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition is upset that the US Secret Service is banning crosses from the President's inaugural parade route. Why would the Secret Service ban a religious symbol? They're not. It's just another example of the over-reaction of the Christian right to their perceived persecution (seriously, what are the odds that the Bush administration, of all people, would be anti-Christian?!?). The Secret Service is doing their job:

In a December 17 directive to the National Park Service, the Secret Service mandated that signs and placards along the inaugural parade route down Pennsylvania Avenue be made out of cardboard, poster board or cloth. They may be no more than three feet wide or 20 feet long.

The directive also prohibited folding chairs, bicycles and other structures, and displays "such as puppets, papier mache objects, coffins, crates, crosses, theaters, cages and statues."

As you can see, they're clearly not banning crosses, they're banning large objects that assassins could hide behind, or that could be used to conceal a weapon.
(snip/...)

http://www.captainoblivious.com/rob_mcdonagh/home.nsf/d6plinks/FDOZ-68JKBY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While they are sprawling on the ground, taking up the sidewalk needed by serious people, someone should go ahead and lob a Bible in there so they can use their time to review the admonition made by Jesus Christ, posted by a DU'er earlier in this thread, concerning the wisdom and appropriateness of doing one's praying in private so it's between you and your god, instead of making a sideshow of yourself in public trying to look more pious than the wicked, lesser people around you.

It's as plain as the nose on their grubby faces: if they are doing it to be seen, they are not actually attempting to communicate with some higher power, they are actually attempting to send messages to the passersby about their superiority. That's simply dishonest.

Who the hell do they think are the people who SHOULD take that admonition seriously?

[Bluebear]

18. PHOTO: One of their devout members at the Schiavo "vigil"

They know how to make a spectacle, I will give them that.

[Judi Lynn]

24. Ah, the spectacular Schiavo event. That really brought them out looking for the cameras, didn't it?

Quite the occassion: you don't often see people this backward, delusional, juvenile. They have no impulse to live like actual righteous people: they are hopelessly drawn to live off the effect they have on others, as they perceive it. Truly twisted.

Who can forget those idiot anti-abortionists crawling along the sidewalks like 200 lb. babies, all around the country, also. I think they all merged at Terri Schiavo's convalescent home.

[gravity]

25. I actually think the ACLU should get involve in this

They had a permit and a right to be there, and unless this story is leaving out something, they didn't break any laws.

They have a right to pray, just like everyone else.

[Bluebear]

29. Nobody was stopping them from praying.

Although that is what they are claiming.

The police wanted to maintain access to the building. You can't "stop" someone from praying.

[TomClash]

28. If only they had photos of fetuses they would have let them stay! nt