[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book I)]
[June 21, 2005]
[Pages 1035-1037]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Satellite Remarks to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting
 June 21, 2005

    Bobby, thank you very much for your kind 
introduction. And thank you for letting me address this convention. I'm 
so honored to be able to speak to you from Washington, DC. And Bobby, I 
appreciate you. I appreciate you for wearing our Nation's uniform and 
for earning the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart as an Army officer. I 
know you share in my sentiments when I say that we are grateful for the 
goodness and courage of the men and women of our military. We're 
grateful for the support and sacrifices of our military families. And I 
want to thank the Southern Baptists' campaign to send out postcards to 
our troops in the field. I appreciate what you're doing. Our men and 
women appreciate even more; they appreciate your prayerful support as 
they protect our liberty.
    Laura and I also want to--at least I want to 
tell you, on behalf of Laura, that we really appreciate your prayers, 
the prayers of our Baptist friends that have sustained us and uplifted 
us. I cannot tell you the number of times Americans have said to me, 
``Mr. President, I pray for you and your family.'' And I tell them the 
same thing I'm telling you now, that is the greatest gift anyone can 
give to me and Laura, and thank you for your prayers.
    From the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, the men and women 
who founded this Nation in freedom relied on prayer to protect it and 
preserve it. In 1789, President George Washington called America's 
Baptists the firm friends of liberty. Today, another President, George 
W., thanks you, because more than two centuries later, you remain firm 
in your dedication to God and country.
    You believe that the ideal of religious liberty is a free church in 
a free state. And you know that freedom is a divine gift that carries 
serious responsibilities. We are called by our Creator to use this gift 
of freedom to build a more compassionate society, where families are 
strong, life is valued, and the poor and the sick can count on the love 
and help of their neighbors.
    Building a more compassionate society starts with preserving the 
source of compassion, the family. Strong families teach children to live 
moral lives and help us pass

[[Page 1036]]

down the values that define a caring society. And Southern Baptists are 
practicing compassion by defending the family and the sacred institution 
of marriage. Because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation 
of society, it should not be redefined by local officials and activist 
judges. For the good of families, children, and society, I support a 
constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage.
    And for the good of our legal system, I will also continue to 
nominate Federal judges who faithfully interpret the law and do not 
legislate from the bench. Every judicial nominee deserves an up-or-down 
vote on the floor of the United States Senate, and I thank you for your 
strong support of the fairminded jurists I have named to the Federal 
courts.
    Building a more compassionate society also depends on building a 
culture of life. A compassionate society protects and defends its most 
vulnerable members at every stage of life. A compassionate society 
supports the principles of ethical science. When we seek to improve 
human life, we must always preserve human dignity, so that's why we 
stand against cloning. A compassionate society rejects partial-birth 
abortion. And I signed a law to end that brutal practice, and my 
administration will continue working to defend that law. To advance a 
culture of life, I was proud to sign the Born-Alive Infants Protection 
Act and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
    A compassionate society will not sanction the creation of life only 
to destroy it. At the White House, I recently met with 21 remarkable 
families, each of whom either adopted or gave up for adoption frozen 
embryos that remained after fertility treatments. The children I met 
confirm our shared belief that America can pursue the tremendous 
possibilities of science and, at the same time, remain an ethical and 
compassionate society. With your continued dedication and work, we will 
continue to build a culture of life in America, and America will be 
better off for it.
    Finally, building a more compassionate society requires that we 
mobilize our Nation's armies of compassion to help the poor, the sick, 
and those who hurt. America's faith-based institutions change hearts 
every day. And we depend on the work of these organizations to bring 
hope to harsh places. Yet for too long, the Governments have 
discriminated against faith-based programs, just because they have a 
cross or a Star of David or a crescent on the wall. And that's why I 
signed an Executive order that said that faith-based groups providing 
social services are entitled to the same access to Federal money as 
other groups. I am proud that we have now opened billions of dollars in 
grant money to competition that includes our faith-based charities. For 
example, my administration awarded College Park Baptist Church in 
Orlando, Florida, $5.8 million to build 68 homes for low-income seniors.
    Because faith-based groups should never have to forfeit their 
religious liberty to get Federal dollars--and that's an important 
concept--we want your help. We want your love, but at the same time, you 
do not have to forget the mission of faith or ignore the mission of 
faith that calls you to action in the first place. And that's why the 
Executive order I signed should be codified into Federal law. Congress 
needs to pass charitable choice legislation to forever guarantee equal 
treatment for our faith-based organizations when they compete for 
Federal funds.
    Southern Baptists are the soldiers in the armies of compassion at 
home and abroad. You're bringing hope to the continent of Africa, and I 
thank you for that. In Uganda, Southern Baptists have emphasized 
abstinence and helped as that country reduced the percentage of people 
infected with HIV by more than two-thirds in less than a decade and a 
half. In Sudan and other countries across Africa, the Samaritan's Purse 
ministry provides food and water and medical care and education to 
suffering people.

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    Helping Africa is a mission we share. I recently announced $674 
million in emergency humanitarian aid to Africa. We and our African 
partners have together brought life-saving AIDS treatment to more than 
200,000 people in sub-Sahara Africa. We're on track to meeting a 5-year 
goal of treating nearly 2 million African adults and children for HIV/
AIDS.
    Service to others is a long Baptist tradition. One of the most 
popular hymns in the Baptist hymnal cries out to the Lord, ``Thy 
compassions, they fail not.'' The compassion of Southern Baptists toward 
your neighbors in America and around the world has helped heal broken 
hearts. Where there is despair, you provide hope, and you help those who 
need love find love. As you work to feed the hungry and provide shelter 
for the homeless, you are changing America and the world for the 
better--one heart, one soul, and one conscience at a time.
    I've come to your convention via video to thank you for all you do. 
Thank you for your love for your country. Thank you for your love for 
your neighbor.
    May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless the United 
States of America.

Note: The President spoke by satellite at 11:55 a.m. from the Map Room 
at the White House to the convention meeting in Nashville, TN. In his 
remarks, he referred to Bobby Welch, president, Southern Baptist 
Convention.