Obama defends choice of inauguration pastor
CHICAGO (AFP) — Barack Obama on Thursday defended his choice of a conservative evangelical pastor to deliver a religious invocation at his January 20 presidential inauguration.
Pastor Rick Warren is a popular preacher who attracts some 20,000 people to his weekly sermons at his giant Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.
The author of the best seller “The Purpose Driven Life,” a wildly successful religious advice book, Warren is also known for his strong views against gay marriage and abortion.
“It is no secret that I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans,” Obama said at a press conference in Chicago.
But he argued: “It’s important for America to come together, even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues.”
Obama noted that Warren invited him to speak at Saddleback a few years ago “despite his awareness that I held views that were entirely contrary to his” on gay rights and abortion.
Obama said pastor Joseph Lowery, a civil rights icon “who has deeply contrasting views to Rick Warren on a whole host of issues,” will also speak at the inauguration.
“There will be a wide range of viewpoints that are presented. And that’s how it should be, because that’s what America’s about … we are diverse and noisy and opinionated.”
He added: “That’s hopefully going to be a spirit that carries over into my administration.”
Two leading liberal groups expressed shock over Obama’s choice of Warren, who is on record as saying that gay marriage “is morally equivalent to allowing brothers and sisters to marry,” and describing abortion as a “holocaust.”
Warren also supported California’s controversial Proposition 8, which voters approved in November. The measure changes the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, therefore banning gay marriage.
In a letter to Obama, the gay rights organization Human Rights Campaign bitterly complained about the choice.
“By inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans have a place at your table,” read a statement signed by group president Joe Solmonese.
The approval of Proposition 8 in California, “which stripped loving, committed same-sex couples of their given legal right to marry is the greatest loss our community has faced in 40 years,” Solmonese wrote.
He described Warren’s invitation as “a genuine blow to LGBT Americans.”
The liberal advocacy group People for the American Way expressed its “grave disappointment” over the invitation.
Warren “gets plenty of attention through his books and media appearances. He doesn’t need or deserve this position of honor,” group president Kathryn Kolbert said in a statement.
During the presidential campaign Obama set out to convince religious voters — especially evangelicals and Catholics that often choose Republican candidates — to cast ballots for him.
In mid-August Warren hosted an event at Saddleback in which Obama and his then-Republican presidential rival John McCain spoke about religion.
Warren quizzed each candidate separately for an hour on issues that included their views on same-sex marriage, abortion, their personal views of faith, sin, and their definition of evil.
