    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [May 16, 2002]
    [Pages 808-810]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast
    May 16, 2002

        The President. Thank you all. Sientense. [Laughter]
        Audience member. [Inaudible]
        The President. Si. Muchas gracias. [Laughter]
        Thank you all for such a warm welcome. It is un honor para mi de
    estar aqui para le--the first--the first--not the last but the first--
    [laughter]--National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. I want to tell you it's
    an honor to be here amongst people who dedicate their lives to the
    embetterment of our fellow human beings. I appreciate that a lot.
        I want to thank Luis. I met with Luis; one
    of the things that struck me was he is a--he'll say ``sergeant''; I say
    ``general'' in the army of compassion in Philadelphia. I loved his
    compassion. Not only is he a man of God; he also understands the
    importance of education. We talked about a charter school he wanted to
    start in his neighborhood. He understands what I understand, that when
    you have quality education, you improve inner-city America. And so,
    Luis, I want to thank you for your focus on education. We must continue
    to work to make sure todos los ninos puedan leer.
        I want to thank Mel Martinez. Donde esta
    Mel? Anyway, he's somewhere here. He's a member of my Cabinet. You may
    remember the story about Mel. He's the Secretary of Housing and Urban
    Development now. As a young boy, his mother and daddy put him on an
    airplane to America from Cuba. He was a part of Operation Pedro Pan.
    They wanted their son to be raised in freedom. They longed for freedom
    and were willing to take the risk to send their loved one to the land of
    freedom. And now I'm proud he has gone from a young ninito in Pedro Pan;
    today, he is now the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. And it
    shows the wonderful spirit and strength of our country.
        I want to thank the Members of Congress who are here. I see I've got
    Senators here and Members of the Congress. Thank you all for coming.
    It's important that you're here, and I appreciate you being here as
    well.
        I want to thank all who have worked hard to set this breakfast up.
    It gives me a chance to come and remind us all that America has many
    traditions of faith, and that's important to always remember. We have
    never imposed any religion, and that's really important to remember,
    too. We welcome all religions in America--all religions. We honor
    diversity in this country. We respect people's deep convictions.
        We know that men and women can be good without faith. We know that.
    We also know that faith is an incredibly important source of goodness in
    our country. Throughout our history, Americans of faith have always
    turned to prayer--for wisdom, prayer for resolve, prayers for compassion
    and strength, prayers for commitment to justice and for a spirit of
    forgiveness.
        Since America's founding, prayer has reassured us that the hand of
    God is guiding the affairs of this Nation. We have never asserted a
    special claim on His favor, yet we've always believed in God's presence
    in our lives. This has always been true. But it has never been more true
    since September the 11th. Prayer has comforted people in grief. Prayer
    has served as a unifying factor in our Nation. Prayer gives us strength
    for the journey ahead. Millions of Americans have turned to prayer
    during these times and have been reminded of an important truth: While
    weeping may endure for a night, joy comes in the morning.
        The last 8 months have showed the world the American character is
    incredibly strong and confident. Yet prayer reminds us that a great
    people must be humble

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    before God, searching for wisdom--constantly searching for wisdom--from
    the almighty Dios.
        Prayer is a vital part of our national life. That's why your
    breakfast is so important. Prayer and faith are an especially vital part
    of the life of Hispanos in este pais. We see the role of faith in your
    devotion to church, to your family, and to charity. The power of faith
    is found among the young, and that's good news--really good news.
    Ministers say that a revolucion espiritual is taking place amongst los
    jovenes Hispanos aqui. That's good.
        I want to thank you all for leading that effort. It's an important
    contribution to our country. One youth leader put it this way: ``The
    revival is impacting the youth most of all, because they do not set
    limits on God. God is doing something so big with the youth of this
    Nation.'' Those are mighty powerful words for a President to hear.
        We know how important faith can be, and we know that faith without
    works, without action, is dead. True faith is never isolated from the
    rest of life. It proves itself through actions and sacrifice, through
    acts of kindness and caring for those in need.
        For some people, Jesus' admonition to care for ``the least of
    these'' is an admirable moral teaching. For many Hispanic Americans,
    it's a way of life. You understand that God has a special concern for
    the poor and that community helpers and healers are doing the most
    important work of all, repairing broken lives, bringing love into
    pockets of hopelessness and despair.
        Charities and community groups and faith-based institutions do
    incredible work in our country, really important work, providing
    shelters for battered women, helping the homeless, the important work of
    mentoring children without fathers, the work of loving a child whose
    mother or father may be in prison, reminding them that there is love and
    compassion and decency and hope, of helping people overcome drug and
    alcohol addictions by helping them first and foremost change their
    hearts.
        These groups, these platoons in the armies of compassion,
    demonstrate compassion and inspire hope in a way that Government never
    can. And they inspire life-changing faith in a way that Government never
    should.
        The Faith-Based and Community Initiative that I've been working on
    and others from Congress have been working on is really important. It's
    an important part of our strategy to combat hopelessness and despair and
    loneliness, to make America a land of opportunity and hope and promise
    por todos--por todos.
        This set of laws will provide new incentives for charitable giving,
    and that's important, really important. It will allow non-itemizers to
    be able to deduct a charitable gift. That will help raise money. It will
    help encourage the flow of people who realize it's important to not only
    give of their time but of their money as well.
        When it comes to providing Federal resources to effective programs,
    this law will make a difference, because, you see, it welcomes private
    and faith-based programs. It says that the days of discriminating--when
    it comes to the use of Federal money, the days of discriminating against
    religious institutions simply because they are religious must come to an
    end.
        I understand you'll be hearing from or have heard from Senator Joe
    Lieberman, Rick Santorum, and I know you just heard from J.C. Watts. I mention these gentlemen because first, they're fine
    leaders. They come from different faiths, different political parties,
    but are united by the common desire to pass important legislation that
    unleashes the strength of the country, which is the compassion of our
    fellow citizens. I appreciate their hard work. I appreciate their
    willingness to focus on the common good. I look forward to signing a
    bill as soon as we can get it out of the United States Senate.
        You know, I often tell people that if you want to respond to what
    has happened to our country, you can do so with prayer,

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    but as importantly, you can do so by loving your neighbor like you'd
    like to be loved yourself. If you want to fight evil, do some good. I
    also--one person cannot do everything in our society, of course. But one
    person can do something. And by that, I mean that we can change our
    country one person at a time--one person at a time. And that's what
    we've got to do, and that's what we have to think about.
        And there's nothing more powerful in helping change the country than
    the faith--faith in Dios. I want to tell you, the greatest gift that
    people can give to a President or people in positions of
    responsibility--anybody else, for that matter--is prayer.
        I work the ropelines a lot, and people say, ``Mr. President, I pray
    for you and your family.'' I turn to them, I look them in the eye, and
    say, ``That's the greatest gift you can give--the greatest gift you can
    give.'' I mean it with all sincerity.
        And so I want to thank you for your prayer. I want to thank you for
    what you do for our Nation. I want to thank you for your good works. I
    want to thank you for helping change America one heart, one soul, one
    conscience at a time.
        I believe that it will be said, it will be said of Americans such as
    yourself, ``Bien, siervo bueno y fiel.''
        It's my honor to be with you this morning. May God bless you and
    your ministries, and may God continue to bless the United States of
    America.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:07 a.m. in the Presidential Ballroom at
    the Capital Hilton. In his remarks, he referred to Rev. Luis Cortes of
    Philadelphia, founder and president of Nueva Esperanza, Inc., a Hispanic
    faith-based community development corporation. The Office of the Press
    Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.