Posted on 07/26/2011 4:01:56 PM PDT by jazusamo
A Texas lawmaker is calling for a congressional investigation of the Houston National Cemetery after he went undercover and determined that cemetery officials are still preventing Christian prayers at the funerals of military veterans.
“The Obama administration continues to try to prevent the word ‘God’ from being used at the funerals of our heroes,” said. Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas).
“It’s unacceptable and I’m going to put a stop to it as fast as humanly possible,” Culberson told Fox News Radio. He attended a burial service at the cemetery undercover on July 8, when he says he witnessed volunteer members of the honor guard from the Veterans of Foreign Wars being prohibited from using any references to God.
“The Obama administration had told the nation and me they were not interfering with the prayer said over the graves of veterans,” he said. “And I went undercover to personally verify that claim.” VA officials have strongly denied they’ve banned any religious speech – and have offered support for Arleen Ocasio, the cemetery’s director.
“The idea that invoking the name of God or Jesus is banned at VA national cemeteries is blatantly false,” said VA Press Secretary Josh Taylor in a written statement to Fox News Radio. “The truth is, VA’s policy protects veterans’ families’ rights to pray however they choose at our national cemeteries.”
Taylor declined to comment on the pending lawsuit or other ongoing legal proceedings, but did say, “No one should make judgments before all the facts are known.” Culberson said the commander of the honor guard was told by cemetery officials to approach a grieving widow to reconfirm that she wanted the word God mentioned at her husband’s graveside service.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Can you say “civil disobedience”? Buck Ofama.
Rust and Satan never sleep.
Very glad to see Culberson going after this cemetery director like he is and anyone else caught lying about this should be fired.
I bet that if a fallen Muslim’s relatives wanted someone there to pray to Allah, they’d get no flak at all.
Even with today’s hideously tortured divorce between state and any vestige of religion, surely it cannot be considered beyond the pale to let a minister, priest, rabbi, imam, guru, swami, medicine man, atheist, whatever person of the troop’s family’s choosing give a religious (or nonreligious) speech or prayer at a fallen troop’s funeral.
bump
Correct, the type funeral should be up to the troops family and no one else, period.
WHAT ??? I NEVER heard of this - I don’t care WHAT religion the servicemember was ... he/she is ENTITLED to the rights and rituals associated with his/her faith.
If this is INDEED true - it MUST BE shouted from the mountain tops !!!
THEY MUST NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS !!!
Uuuuhhhh, remember the report of Osama Bin Laden’s “funeral service?”
Yeah, even Osama was given an imam in a rather impromptu burial at sea, and Osama was our enemy. (George W. Bush might have handled it similarly.)
Good to see a Republican doing work for the people, and knowing how he got where he is...His record looks good ...from an outsiders view.
ya don't ask you just do it... and i doubt there'd be anybody stooopid enough to do anything about it
Exactly! A number of students were told not to say anything religious at their graduation ceremony and they did it anyway.
Rather than complain about it, they should just go ahead with the prayer. What are they going to do - toss everyone in jail?
I fully agree, but I hope Rep. Culberson gets Arleen Ocasio fired, this whole thing is just wrong.
There IS a ban on VFW, and any and all other “volunteers”, (strangers) speaking at military funerals without the expressed permission of the deceased military members family.
I support that type of “prayer restriction” against all strangers, at any funeral, especially at a military members funeral.
If the VFW volunteers can't or won't provide the same level of solemn respect at a veterans funeral that an active duty Honor Guard would for any military members death...that's their own personal organizational problem, and their own personal failure in performing a solemn task.
The family can approve prayers, if they desire them.
I would approve of them for my own funeral, if offered, but my funeral will be a ceremony for the comfort of my family.
They can decide what works best for them.
I certainly don't want my family to be harrassed by a group of strangers pretending to honor my military service, when they really just want to add me to a martyr list I never signed up for.
roger that...
From my experience, the VFW doesn’t just “show up” at a funeral. They are very respectful and are with the family usually from the get-go. A lot of planning goes into the services - and the family is involved.
Your post makes them sound like the idiots from that Kansas church. I assure you that they are NOT!
I am fairly certain you are incorrect in this particular instance.
It looks like there is very little difference between that abnoxious Kansas “church” and this one specific VFW group in Texas.
Before you throw your support to them, and believe they are being abused...check them out.
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