On X, formerly Twitter, Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said Thursday: “As the Senator Chaplain opens the National Prayer Breakfast w/a sermon, American flags as his backdrop, I ask again: Why do we have chaplains in Congress? Why do we have a National Prayer Breakfast? Church-state separation protects religion as much as taxpayers’ religious freedom.”
Tenor Andrea Bocelli opened the event by singing the Lord’s Prayer and concluded it with a rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” that prompted Biden to stand up and shake the musician’s hand before the president returned to his front-row seat for Kibben’s prayer.
Biden, a Roman Catholic, ended his remarks by calling for unity among those in the room, paraphrasing the words of the song “On Eagle’s Wings.”
“Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand: That’s sincerely my prayer to all of you,” the president said. “We have really tough, tough differences. We really go at one another. But remember — let’s remember who the hell we — hell we are. We’re the United States of America. It’s all about dignity and respect so let’s practice it.”
As he moved to his seat, the members of Congress and guests in attendance stood and applauded.
This article originally appeared here.
