President Obama may be able to lecture Louisiana flood victims about “discrimination” in their rebuilding efforts, but a Christian police officer apparently committed a heinous crime in the pelican state: praying. That’s right. Captain Clay Higgins of Lafayette was told he can’t pray with residents displaced by flooding in Louisiana – by the Red Cross. Via Constitution.com:
This past week police officer Clay Higgins stopped by the local Red Cross shelter after work to see how he could be of service to the hurting people of his community. Higgins was still in uniform and carrying a Bible as he spoke and prayed with local residents. After a few minutes on scene he was approached by a Red Cross volunteer who told him that the Red Cross had taken issue with what he was doing and wanted him to leave.
“He said the Red Cross had an issue with me being there. So I asked him what the problem was. He looked down at my Bible and he gestured and said, ‘They have a problem with that.’”
Higgins then asked to see a supervisor, and that supervisor told him that he needed to leave their facility. “I was told that the Red Cross does not allow spiritual counseling in their shelters. The supervisor told me the Red Cross is not a religious-based organization and they don’t allow religious interaction with the residents.”
Apparently the Phone-An-Atheist line was busy. Continues Constitution.com:
While Officer Higgins was being chastised by the Red Cross supervisor someone approached and asked him to pray with them. Mr. Higgins was happy to oblige but was forced to do so outside.
“I was not proselytizing. I was just there to thank volunteers and offer prayers and encouragement… Christian compassion was not welcomed there in the manner I had provided,” Higgins told Fox News’ Todd Starnes.
The Red Cross tried to diffuse the controversy by telling the Baton Rouge Advocate that the policy is simply meant to respect people of all faiths and that Officer Higgins would have been allowed to continue doing what he was doing had he simply asked to do so. However, that has not been the experience of other Christians dealing with the Red Cross in Louisiana.
In his report on this story, Starnes also relates what a local Pastor told him about how the Red Cross deals with Christians:
A pastor in the town of Albany told me that four families left a Red Cross shelter after they were told they could not pray or read their Bibles at their cots.
“They got upset and literally packed up their stuff and came right here,” said the pastor, who asked not to be identified. “A Red Cross worker told them they could not pray or read their Bible in public.”
The pastor said he drove to the shelter in question and he was immediately met with individuals who related similar stories.
“I hadn’t even made it in the door,” the pastor said. “They said the Red Cross workers told them they could not pray or read Bibles. I told them to go to their cot and pray and read. I told them they’re on church property and they could read a Bible on church property.”
Darwin forbid, we wouldn’t want any kind of invidious activity like Bible reading or – gasp! – prayer going on in a Red Cross facility now, would we?
Captain Higgins tells his story on video. He notes that while he’s in uniform on the video, he’s not on duty. He says recent flooding was of “biblical proportions” and those affected by the natural disaster deserve a biblical response. “It’s a difficult, challenging time” says Higgins on the video. He says he wanted to offer “love, encouragement, compassion and prayer” to those displaced and to affirm hard-working volunteers.
“This is what Americans do when we face trial and tribulation” says Higgins. “We love each other. … what’s wrong with that?” He wanted to pray with those in the shelter “to let them know there are people out there loving them, praying for them.”
https://youtu.be/bz3D8uw0c84
Apparently the American Red Cross didn’t get that memo. Or at least not all of it. Higgins explains how Red Cross rules prohibited him from “walking around the shelter” sharing love and prayers. When he was asked to stop praying with those in the shelter by Red Cross personnel, Higgins wondered aloud (afterwards) what part of the First Amendment guarantees freedom from religion. He also wonders why Red Cross rules don’t allow prayer in a shelter for those in need of care, compassion, and encouragement.
The Red Cross says “spiritual care” is provided through its Spiritual Care program where trained personnel provide comfort to those of many differing faiths. Via Constitution.com:
Anyway, when Starnes asked if non-Red Cross trained outsiders could provide spiritual care, the Red Cross refrained from responding. However, Officer Higgins was happy to answer…
“If I wanted to pray with the folks in the shelter, the Red Cross told me I would have to be approved in advance, I would have to fill out the documents and they would set me up at a table. I would not be allowed to leave the table. If people wanted to come to me, they could. But I could not go to them.”
Refresh my memory here for a minute. When, exactly, did the Red Cross – and America – become a religious-free zone?