(WASHINGTON, DC) - Bishop Council Nedd, the chairman of the national advocacy group In God We Trust, calls on the White House and Congress to defend the United States Naval Academy against a threatened suit by the ACLU. The ACLU claims that lunchtime prayers offered before meals at the Military Academy violate a midshipman's right to choose whether or not he or she wishes to pray. The prayers are led by leaders of various faiths and participation among midshipman is voluntary.

     Chairman Bishop Nedd states, "The White House and Congress must act quickly to defend the religious liberty and heritage that makes our nation and our military a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. Offering up a non-mandatory, non-sectarian, prayer before lunch hardly seems to constitute the "coerced" prayer that is claimed by the ACLU Director T. Jeremy Gunn. The Academy has offered mealtime prayer since its founding in 1845, providing a moment of reflection and thanks to each of its fine students and faculty. The U.S. Constitution mandates the protection of faith in America, not the removal of any mention of God from our country, and the government must now strongly defend that which we were founded on. Our leaders must strongly defend the right to prayer in the U.S. Naval Academy and all other service academies."