Connelly: Trump 'religious liberty' order alarms Seattle-area religious leaders

Fr. Michael Ryan, pastor of St. James Cathedral, says the Trump executive order on "religious liberty" "doesn't just concern me, it alarms me. I pit the poor people who will be subjected to blatant partisan politics from the pulpits of some churches." (Joshua Trujillo, seattlepi.com) less Fr. Michael Ryan, pastor of St. James Cathedral, says the Trump executive order on "religious liberty" "doesn't just concern me, it alarms me. I pit the poor people who will be subjected to blatant partisan ... more Photo: SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Connelly: Trump 'religious liberty' order alarms Seattle-area religious leaders 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

President Trump, marking National Prayer Day, on Thursday issued an Executive Order on "religious liberty," inviting clergy members to endorse candidates from the pulpit and promising to make it easier for religious organizations to opt out of contraception requirements.

Seattle-Puget Sound area faith leaders took the liberty of disagreeing with the 45th President.

"Bad for America and democracy," said Rabbi Daniel Weiner, senior rabbi at Temple de Hirsch Sinai.

The Executive Order "doesn't just concern me, it alarms me," said Fr. Michael Ryan, pastor of St. James Cathedral in Seattle.

"I pity the poor people who will be subjected to blatant partisan politics from the pulpits of some churches," Ryan said. "Pulpits are for principles, not politics. This has long been the tradition in the Catholic Church, which takes positions on issues but not on individual candidates."

Trump signed his order at the White House with an "amen corner" of conservative religious leaders standing behind the thrice-wed, sexually boastful President.

"For too long, the federal government has used the power of the state as a weapon against people of faith, bullying and even punishing Americans for following their religious beliefs," said Trump.

The religious right is unfazed by the lifestyle of a President who answers their prayers. "I thank God that we have @POTUS who seeks the counsel of men and women of God," the Rev. Franklin Graham tweeted from the White House lawn.

Under the Trump administration, however, Peter has been declaring that religious beliefs mean defying Caesar.

Across the country, and in the Puget Sound area, a "Sanctuary" movement has grown up among churches, synagogues and mosques, saying they will offer "refuge and respite" to immigrants and refugees sought in Trump's roundups of "illegals."

The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia is plaintiff in a federal court challenge to Trump's travel bans, arguing that the President's orders will serve to impede and disrupt the church's refugee resettlement program.

The Trump order "blurs the lines of separation between Church and State in ways that will not ultimately serve faith communities and their members well," said the Very Rev. Steve Thomason, dean of St. Mark's Cathedral. The Episcopal cathedral hosted a multi-faith Sanctuary meeting on May Day.

"As citizens we already have the full slate of civic rights, and as communities of faith, we already engage in political advocacy and action informed by the gospel," added Thomason. "But to remove restrictions on endorsement of individual candidates by churches is a maneuver that will only lead to more partisan strife and the ad hominum attacks that come with it -- attacks that will be made in the name of God. Sad!~"

The Trump order did fall short of the wishes of some opponents of LGBTQ rights on the religious right.

It does not refer to sexual orientation or identity, and does not lift regulations by the Obama administration that forbade discrimination against gays and lesbians. It did not give a green light for recipients of federal money to decline services to the LGBT community.

"It is pretty much a non-event since the (federal) departments are to 'consider' issuing new regulations regarding conscience," said Rev. Joe Fuiten, retired senior pastor at the Cedar Park Church in Bothell, and prominent Christian Conservative.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray disagreed. Murray, an active Catholic, said the Trump order contains "dangerous exemptions for employers who want to cut off access to health care and contraception."

Rev. Sandy Brown, lead pastor at the Edmonds United Methodist Church, argued that the order is "rife with possibilities for abuse," adding: "Religious non-profits currently aren't required to file IRS 990 reports, which means that candidate contributions given through newly political religious groups as well as their pro-candidate expenditures would be impossible to track."

As well, said Rev. Paul Benz, a Lutheran parson who heads the Faith Action Network, the Executive Order pushes "the mission and purposes of churches/synagogues/mosques into the electoral process which weakens the constitutional principal of church-state separation."

The Trump order was in gestation, and being rewritten, all the way up to the Rose Garden ceremony in which it was signed.

Such conservative religious leaders as Franklin Graham had their pictures taken with Trump, and heard the President tell them: "Your ordeal will soon be over, O.K.? It's been a long, hard ordeal."

Fr. Ryan, whose cathedral has been destination for anti-war, anti-gun violence and human rights marches, wondered about the persecution rhetoric.

"I would add that any threats to our religious freedom in this country pale by comparison with what believers daily endure in other parts of the world," he added. "In their case, it's not just threats but daily, honest-to-goodness persecution."

Republican presidents have often paid more lip than service to goals of the religious right, starting with a classic Ronald Reagan soundbite to the Moral Majority: "You can't endorse me, but I endorse you."

As Sandy Brown put it, the latest Trump order may not be a "very serious or thoughtful proposal."

"I'm sure this will quicken the pulse of some religious leaders, but as we've learned with other recent Executive Orders in this administration, the effect wears off quickly once the signing photos are on the front page."

Joe Fuiten, who does not agree with Brown on many subjects, had a somewhat similar take on the Rose Garden ceremony.

"The whole thing seems to be mostly words without meaning," said Fuiten. "Seems like anyone who gets amped up about this is posturing for their base of support. On the other hand, just issuing the statement sends a signal to the departments not to act like the Obama administration, which was hostile to the religious beliefs of anyone."