Date: 2007-12-17
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. one of the most fortunate things Ive had happen in my life is that I was able to serve for 12 years with Henry Hyde. 10 years during the first period of time I served. and then the first 2 years of my return to the Congress. For 10 of those years. well. all 12 of those years. I served on the Judiciary Committee with him. and he was. in my mind. a great man. We all have our heroes. I suppose. in life. My dads a hero of mine. Ronald Reagan was a hero of mine. Mother Theresa is a hero of mine. And in this House. Henry Hyde was and continues to be a hero of mine. Recently. we have had a lot of debate and discussion in the. national press about the appropriate place for religion and religious values in public debate. The speech given by the former Governor of Massachusetts. Governor Romney. has been called the speech reminding people of the speech given by another gentleman from Massachusetts some 40 years ago. President John F. Kennedy. And in their own way. they were both outstanding speeches. But one of the speeches I recall on the same subject was given by Henry Hyde. It was the speech he gave at my alma matter. the University of Notre Dame. in the same year that Governor Cuomo gave a speech to the university. attempting to the address the question of what the proper role was of religious values in public life. Now. it was particularized in the fact that both Governor Cuomo and Henry Hyde were Roman Catholics. But what they said there aild what Henry said there is not limited merely to a Catholic in public service. but goes to the question of what someone Who has deeply held religious values should do when confronted with the great ideas of their time. E 1530 Perhaps the greatest example in political history is that of Sir Thomas Moore. also known as St. Thomas Moore. immortalized in the great play. "A Man for All Seasons." when he attempted to try and deal with the tremendous disconnect at times between what in the secular world appears to be an obvious conflict between deeply held values and your responsibility as an elected or appointed figure. Similarly. in a closer period of time in our history. a work that influenced the speech of John Kennedy was a great writing by John Courtney Murray called. "We Hold These Truths." John Courtney Murray was a tremendous Jesuit priest and political theorist whose work probably was the greatest influence in the Catholic Church during the Second Vatican Council in understanding what political liberty was all about. And I have used both of those writings in trying to understand what my obligation in- life is. But ranking alongside both of those works is this work by Henry Hyde called. "For Every Idle Silence." He took that from a statement by St. Ambrose. He said. Not only for every idle word but for every silence must man render an account. Henry Hyde believed that. In the speech at my alma mater. Henry Hyde said in 1984. "This must be an election year. Everyone is talking about theology." The reason I mention that is here we are 20some years past that time. and there are those that believe that this issue is arising for the first time. and somehow we have some difficulty in undbrstanding what its all about. So I would just like to reflect on a few words of Henry Hyde in that speech which perhaps would give us some direction as we approach that same issue this year. He said. "First and hopefully most obviously. we are not arguing about the creation of a theocracy or anything remotely approaching it. Were not talking about declaring ourselves a Christian Nation or a Nation under any religion." But he said. "We are. as our coinage and our Pledge of Allegianoe asserts. a Nation under God: that means a Nation under Gods judgment. constantly reminded by our smallest coin that the true measure of ourselves comes from beyond ourselves. Again. for the church as well as for democracy. let us preserve the integrityof both the political process and the church." And he went on to say. "In the second place. we are not arguing about whether religion and politics should mix. This formula. so simple. is also deceptive and disorienting. Religion. the expression of what theologian Paul Tillich called our ultimate concern. and politics have mixed. intermingled. shaped and influenced each other centuries before the conversion of Constantine." And Henry goes on to say. "And this has been true of our American experiment as well. The claim that American religion has always been intensely private between the individual and God would surely have come as news to John Winthrop and the Pilgrims. to Jonathan Edwards. to the Abolitionists. to Lincoln. to 15 generations of the black church. -and not least to American Catholics taught by the magisterial John Courtney Murray. architect of the Vatican Councils Declaration on Religious Liberty. Throughout our history. religious values have always been a part of the public policy debate. Religious values. particularly the JudeoChristian traditions insistence on the inherent dignity and inviolable worth of each individual human life. lie at the root of what Murray called the American Proposition." "Yes." Henry says. "other influences shaped the Founders of our Republic. Enlightenment modes of political philosophy play their important role. too. But to borrow a phrase momentarily from the Marxists. it is no accident that Benjamin Franklin. one of the deistic Founders. proposed as a device on the Great Seal of the United States a picture of Moses lifting up his staff and dividing the Red Sea while the Pharaoh was overwhelmed in its waters. with the motto Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. "Jefferson. often considered the most implacable foe of mixing religion and politics. countered with the suggestion that the Great Seal depict the children of Israel in the wilderness. led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night." Henry Hyde ufiderstood that we are influenced and informed by our most deeply held beliefs and that it is not unAmerican to bring those to the debate. He also suggested that what we also understood was that we should not establish any particular religion or demand the American people bow to any particular religion. Henry Hyde gave us tremendous guidance. and for those in the debate involved today. I would suggest they might want to look at Henrys book. "For Every Idle Silence." including -that speech at Notre Dame which he entitled. with his usual good sense and humor. "Keeping God in the Closet. Some Thoughts on the Exorcism of Religious Values from Public Life." Henry Hyde was a remarkable man. He had a great wit about him.. You could argue on the floor with him as strongly as possible. and he would come over across the aisle. punch you in the arm and tell you a joke. He took what he did seriously. but he never took himself too seriously. He was an inspiration to me and many others around the world. I remember one time I asked Henry. do you ever get tired being involved in the debate on the righttolife. and he said to me. you know. I do. but as I get older and think of my mortality. I think about the possibility of entering the gates of heaven. and I think of the faces of those children whose lives Ive saved. standing there saying to me. Welcome. Henry. welcome. Ultimately. I think Henrys life can be summed up in the last words that he gave to the students and faculty of the University of Notre Dame in 1984. He said this to those students: "And so I ask again. do you change the world or does the world change you? "There was a Just Man many centuries ago who tried to save Sodom from destruction. Ignoring his warning. mocking him with silence. the inhabitants shielded themselves with indifference. But still he persisted. and taking pity on him. a child asked. Why do you go on? The Just Man replied that in the beginning. he thought he could change man. Today.-he said. I know I cannot. If I still shout and scream. its to prevent them from changing me!" As Henry said to those students that day: "I hope you go out and change the world!" Mr. Speaker. Henry Hyde was the just man. Henry Hyde did work. Henry Hyde changed the world. I am thankful for his leadership. Im thankful for him being a colleague. Im thankful to be able to call him friend. and I rise in strong support of H. Res. 843. Mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time.