An atheist group claimed that a hand-carved gift made by Philadelphia prisoners for Pope Francis violated the First Amendment in a recent letter.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation sent a letter to Louis Giorla,Philadelphia’s commissioner of prisons, outlining concerns over prisoners being used to carve, refinish, and upholster the chair for Pope Francis ahead of his visit on Sept. 27. The pope is scheduled to meet with approximately 100 inmates at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.
“[The prison system] appears to be showing impermissible favoritism to one religion over all others, and religion over non-religion, by inviting Catholic religious leaders to its facilities and then bestowing gifts on them,” Annie Laurie Gaylor, the foundation’s co-president, wrote in the letter. Gaylor noted that prisoners also made a special chair earlier this year for Charles Chaput, the Archbishop of Philadelphia.
The foundation cited the First Amendment, which, it said, “mandates governmental neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and non-religion.”
By inviting the Pope to meet with inmates and presenting him with an expensive gift, the group claimed that the prison is showing favoritism to one religion.
The foundation noted that the prisons are “public-supported” and “not Catholic.”
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4 comments:
Here is a way to piss off a Athiest ,tell them you don't believe in Athiests???
Well, they are just plain and simple wrong in this case and the one about the Archbishop's chair.
They do chairs there, obviously, and to do one for the Pope and an Archbishop is their right, just as if they were to do a chair for anyone else, even an Atheist, Lutheran, Holy Roller, Methodist, Snake Worshiper, or Nazi.
Maybe they do electric chairs there, too, and could invite these folks for a free demonstration!
.."The foundation cited the First Amendment, which, it said, “mandates governmental neutrality between religion and religion, and between religion and non-religion.”..
Oh really?
EXACTLY where does it say that?
These people are babbling idiots.
I do believe the Constitution states that ' congress shall not establish any religion' by law! It says nothing about favoring one over another! Love those who wish to put more words into the Constitution and The Bill of Rights which are not, nor ever intended to be put there. The Constitution was not written overnight nor even in one year. Learn your history then speak with some knowledge!
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