Vice President Mike Pence announced that the Bible will remain on display in a lobby of a Veterans Affairs hospital in New Hampshire.
Speaking at the 101st American Legion National Convention in Indianapolis on August 28, Pence assured that the Trump administration supports not only the veterans’ medical needs, but also their spiritual needs, reports Vision Christian Radio.
VA hospitals will not be religion-free zones. We will respect the freedom of religion for every veteran of every faith. —Vice President Mike Pence
“As we meet the health care needs of our veterans, let me make you another promise,” Pence said. “This administration will always make room for the spiritual needs of our heroes at the VA as well.”
He added that, “Let me be clear: Under this (administration), VA hospitals will not be religion-free zones. We will respect the freedom of religion for every veteran of every faith. New Hampshire VA — the Bible stays!”
The vice president’s remarks came following a recent lawsuit filed by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) against a VA medical center in Manchester, NH. The group cried foul over a Bible displayed on a Missing Man Table, a table which symbolizes the “everlasting concern” to soldiers who are prisoners of war or are missing in action.
According to MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein, “That is stamping it with the approval of raising one faith over all the others.”
The VA initially removed the Bible in January, but restored it the following month after receiving many complaints from pro-Bible citizens. The VA maintained that the Bible will “remain indefinitely as part of the missing man display, a secular tribute to America’s POW/MIA community,” reports LifeSite News.
National VA spokesman Curt Cashour declared that, “Make no mistake, VA will not be bullied on this issue.” He dismissed the lawsuit as “nothing more than an attempt to force VA into censoring a show of respect for America’s POW/MIA community.”
