President Obama has announced the launch of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Patnerships. Here’s one summary of key points:
President Obama on Thursday signed an executive order establishing the new White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Among the key points of the White House press release announcing the office:
There will be a mechanism for the executive director of the office to work through the White House counsel to seek the advice of the attorney general on “difficult legal and constitutional issues.” (Obama had said during the campaign that he would not allow groups to take religion into account when hiring, but this appears to mean the hiring issue is still the subject of debate. The Washington Post reports that and other legal issues will be decided on a “case-by-case basis.”)
In addition to assisting community groups in providing social services, its goals will include helping to address teenage pregancy and finding ways to reduce abortion, and working with the National Security Council to foster interfaith dialogue around the world.
The president also is naming a 25-member advisory council for the office composed of a wide array of faith leaders, including Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism director and counsel Rabbi David Saperstein.
Eboo Patel is one of the named members of the Advisory Council.
