Bush said religious faith teaches tolerance, humility and the value of community service — all of which are needed to recover from Sept. 11 and vanquish terrorism.
«Every religion is welcomed in our country,» Bush said at the National Prayer Breakfast. «All are practiced here. Many of our citizens profess no religion at all. Our country has never had an official faith. Yet we have all been witnesses, these past 21 weeks, to the power of faith to see us through the hurt and loss that has come on to the country.»
The breakfast is a 50-year tradition that brings lawmakers, foreign heads of state and spiritual leaders together in prayer. This year´s event was filled with tributes to the heroes of the Sept. 11 attacks.
«The men and woman who charged into burning buildings to save others, those who fought the hijackers, were not confused about the difference between right and wrong,» the president said. «They knew the difference. They knew their duty, and we know their sacrifice was not in vain.»
