Letters to the Editor September 27, 2002
Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 26, 2002
Young reader wants info
Dear Editor:
My name is Jessica and I am a fifth grade student of John F. Kennedy Learning Center in Dallas, Texas. Our fifth grade class is doing reports on the 50 states. I am doing a report on Alabama. Could you please send me postcards, and other cool stuff to help with my report?
51A
JF Kennedy Learning Center
1802 Moser
Dallas, Tx. 75206
Thank you,
Jessica Ruby Romero
No chaplain in Congress
Dear Editor:
There is currently a lawsuit to eliminate the position of chaplain in the Congress of United States. President Madison agreed: "The Constitution of the U. S. forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion. The law appointing Chaplains establishes a religious worship for the national representatives, to be performed by Ministers of religion, elected by a majority of them, and these are to be paid out of the national taxes. Does this not involve the principle of a national establishment?"
General Washington was also concerned about Congressional appointments of military chaplains: "Among many other weighty objections to the measure, it has been suggested, that it has a tendency to introduce religious disputes into the Army, which above all things should be avoided, and in many instances would compel men to a mode of worship which they do not profess." Washington supported the concept of removing any chaplain who caused the least problem.
The Catholic and Southern Baptist Churches are allowed to tell the U.S. Chaplains Corps to discriminate against women, based on religion. The Chaplains Corps needs to be eliminated or brought into compliance with the Constitution: ". . .no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
I support eliminating all positions of Catholic and Southern Baptist Chaplains in the U. S. Government until those churches start ordaining women. Why should my tax money, and yours, support femaphobic religions whose dogmas preclude constitutional principles?
Thank you,
Rev. Hank Shiver
Talladega