Oppose Mayor Bloomberg's Exclusion of Clergy and Prayer from 9/11 Memorial

The Mayor of New York will exclude clergy and will censor religious expression at our National Memorial

We will honor, we will remember and we will tell our children and grandchildren of the valor and courage of those who died and those who responded. And, we will pray. However, we will not be "allowed" to pray at Ground Zero if the Mayor of New York has his way. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has unilaterally excluded any appearance by clergy and censored prayer from the podium.

P>WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - On Saturday, September 10, 2011, the United States will commemorate an event which has been permanently entrenched within our National soul and enshrined in our history as a free and good people. Ten years ago evil men, blasphemously purporting to be serving their God, killed 3,000 innocent men and women in an act of brutality and barbarism.

We will mourn, we will weep and we will share our stories of where we were when it all happened. We will honor, we will remember and we will tell our children and grandchildren of the valor and courage of those who died and those who responded. And, we will pray. However, we will not be "allowed" to pray at Ground Zero if the Mayor of New York has his way. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in an incredulous, insensitive and despotic "edict" has unilaterally excluded any appearance by any clergy or first responders and censored prayer from the podium.

Like all Americans, 9/11/2011 forever changed my life. I have my "Ground Zero Heroes" and, I will write about one in particular on that day. I remember the outcry of goodness which followed the evil act; the heroism, the virtue, the demonstration of authentic charity and true solidarity. I remember the spontaneous outpouring of religious expression manifested in our national response. I will never forget the emergence of the Ground Zero Cross and all the memorials which were built everywhere as that crater became a shrine.

However, the Mayor of New York will exclude clergy and will censor religious expression at our National Memorial. His actions are not only insensitive, they are unjust. There has been an outcry from Religious leaders and from most Americans. However, Mayor Bloomberg has unilaterally decided to disregard our history, misinterpret our Constitution and dishonor many who lost their lives on that day which will forever define America. He should be ashamed.

I am a lawyer. A significant part of my career was spent in constitutional law. From 1991 through 1997, I served as the Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice, a public interest law firm engaged in religious freedom and pro-life work. I had the privilege of working alongside its Chief Counsel, the outstanding constitutional advocate, Jay Sekulow. During the early years I wrote a small booklet entitled "Religious Cleansing in the American Republic". The booklet was distributed to half a million people.

However, it was not without its critics. I was accused by some back then of overstating the problem. I did not then, and I do not now, as I call this action of the Mayor of New York an example of such "religious cleansing" disguised as tolerance. It is one more sign of a growing hostility toward the symbols of our religious heritage and our history as we throw off the values informed by religious faith which secure our freedoms. The overt and open hostility toward people of faith, religious expression and religious institutions in our Nation signals a clear and present danger.

Religious freedom is the first freedom. It is also a fundamental human right for all persons. The western tradition is founded upon a vision of human freedom that is informed by the insights derived from classical Christian and Jewish thought. The Western tradition is rooted and grounded in the great insights derived from Christianity and Judaism. Certainly there are legitimate differences of opinion as to which of the American founders was a Christian or a Jew or of any religious tradition.Some were deists and some were atheists.

However, there is little disagreement that this Nation has its roots in - and was deeply influenced by - Christian and Jewish thought. Efforts to say otherwise are not only revisionist history, they are dangerous. They promote a growing secularist intolerance of religion which threatens authentic freedom and does not serve the common good. The American idea of protecting religious freedom as the "first freedom" is set forth with simplicity and lucidity in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

That First amendment affirms that in America there should be no "establishment of religion" in the sense of a nationally sponsored Church with a mandated adherence. Such a National Church was rejected by many of the American founders, even though some of the original colonies actually had State Churches. However, religious faith and the proper role of the values informed by faith as applied to our life together have provided a foundation for freedom for all men and women of every faith or no faith.

The prohibition against the "establishment" of a National Religion must not become an impenetrable barrier or be used to justify governmental hostility toward religious faith, religious persons, religious expression or religious institutions. The so called "establishment clause" of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is really an "anti-establishment" clause. It must be interpreted in light of the Free Exercise and free Speech clauses of that same First Amendment.

Religious faith, religious persons and religious institutions should be encouraged and accommodated by the government, not treated with hostility. Religious faith and the values informed by faith serve and promote the common good. Religious freedom is a fundamental human right which must be secured and protected by law. Rightly understood and applied, religious freedom means a freedom for religious expression; not a removal of such expression.

It entails a freedom for people of all faiths to participate in the public square and to be a part of the daily social interactions that constitute the very tapestry of our social life. Religious faith is a human and social "good" and the values informed by faith as applied to our life together, have provided a firm foundation for our understanding of freedom and belief in unalienable rights, endowed by a Creator not conferred by any government.

We must collaborate to defend all our freedoms by reaffirming our support for religious freedom; rightly understood and applied, as a freedom for religious expression not a freedom from such expression. Hostility toward the role of faith in our life together as a free people and efforts to censor the vital role it has played in our history and founding, is corrosive to freedom and does not serve the common good. This most recent example by Mayor Bloomberg is an affront to the commemoration of one of our nation's most solemn experiences.

Fortunately, there is a growing outcry against this unilateral action by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Among the numerous public interest legal groups, the American Center for Law and Justice is taking a strong role. They have issued a letter to the Mayor clearly setting forth his errant position as a matter of law. The gutsy Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League, is also speaking out and calling others to do the same, especially on behalf of Catholics.

On Thursday, September 8, 2011 Bill will join New York City Council Member Fernando Cabrera and others on the steps of City Hall at noon. Participants will appeal to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reconsider his decision to ban the clergy from speaking at Sunday's 9/11 memorial ceremonies. In a Wednesday Press Release he addressed the issue as follows:

"It is nearly impossible to find anyone who supports Mayor Bloomberg's gag rule censoring the clergy and First Responders from speaking at the 9/11 ceremonies this Sunday. One exception is a woman who lost her husband in the attacks, and who is identified as a liaison between the mayor and the victims' families. Her name is Christy Ferer. But she is not exactly a go-between: she works for Bloomberg. Moreover, she used to date him.

"There are so many faiths that would have to be present," Ferer recently said. "How do you not insult somebody?" Better to insult everyone equally, she concludes. But not exactly: no group of New Yorkers is more insulted than Catholics. Not only is Archbishop Timothy Dolan banned (along with other clergy), no First Responders are allowed to speak (yet the vast majority of those who died on 9/11 were Catholic).

"Ferer's ties with her ex-boyfriend have paid dividends. Besides being a Special Assistant to Bloomberg today, she previously served on the Advisory Council Board for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and is past Commissioner of the Port Authority. She also served on the transition committee for Mayor-elect Bloomberg. Her husband who was killed on 9/11, Neil Levin, was also a longtime friend of Bloomberg, and a former director of the Port Authority.

"Many members of victims' families have previously complained that Ferer does not reach out to them, and there is no evidence that she consulted with them regarding the propriety of censoring the clergy and First Responders from the 9/11 events. She says she reads their e-mails, but this is a poor substitute for dialogue. In other words, we need to know the names of those whom Bloomberg and Ferer consulted with before the decision to ban the clergy and First Responders was made."

We urge our readers to stand up against this wrongful act of Mayor Bloomberg in any way in which you can. For our readers in New York, join our friend Bill Donohue at City Hall. For those planning to attend the tenth anniversary commemoration, either from New York or traveling to the City, we invite you to exercise your constitutionally protected right to express your religious faith in the public square. Pray, and invite others to join you. We invite all members of the Clergy to dress in a manner which reflects your identification with your religious tradition.

For everyone else, we ask you to pray that the Mayor comes to his senses. Then, help him to do so by contacting his Press Secretary, Stu Loeser: sloeser@cityhall.nyc.gov

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