English subtitles for clip: File:President Obama Speaks at the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast.webm

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President Obama:
Thank you.

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Please, everyone
have a seat.

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Giving all praise and
honor to God,

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who brought us here this morning.

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Thank you so much

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for our two outstanding co-chairs, Louie and Jan.

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And I have to say, I
would have enjoyed

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a behind-the-scenes look
at the two of these folks

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getting this breakfast
organized this morning.

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(Laughter)

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But there does
seem to be that sibling

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thing a little bit, Louie.

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(Laughter)

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They love each
other, but they've got

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to go at each other
a little bit.

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I, by the way, have
always found Louie

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to be unbelievably gracious
every time I've seen him.

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Now, I don't watch
TV, I've got to admit.

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(Laughter)

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But he is
a good man and a great

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storyteller, and Janice
was just reminding me the

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first time we saw each
other was at one

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of my first events when I
first ran for office.

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It's wonderful to see all

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of the dignitaries and friends
who are here today.

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To the Presidents, and
Prime Ministers,

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the leaders of business and
the nonprofit community;

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to my incredible friend
and Vice President,

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Joe Biden; to my Cabinet
members who are here

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and members of the
administration who do such

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great work every single
day; to my fellow

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Hawaiian, it is
wonderful to see you.

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I should tell you that my
surfing is not that good.

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(Laughter)

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I just
want to be clear.

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But my bodysurfing
is pretty good.

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Senator Hirono:
Bodysurfing is fun.

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(Laughter)

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The President: It is.

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(Laughter)

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And to Raj
Shah, who is just such

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an incredible young leader
and is out there every

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single day, I could not
be more proud

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of his outstanding
leadership at USAID.

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And it's a good reminder
--

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(applause)

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-- it's a good reminder of the
dedicated public servants

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that I have the chance to
interact

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with every single day.

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And they do great work,
don't always get

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a lot of credit, sometimes get
subject to the sort

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of criticism that you do when
you're in public life, but

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Raj is single-minded in
terms of trying to help

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as many people as possible
all around the world

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and is an extraordinary
representative

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for our country.

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So I'm very, very proud
of him -- although he does

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always make me feel like
an underachiever whenever

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I listen to him.

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(Laughter)

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I'm thinking,
I should have been working

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harder and not slouching.

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(Laughter)

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Dale Jones and everyone
else who worked

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on this breakfast this morning,
thank you, and obviously

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I'm thrilled to be joined
by my extraordinary wife

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and she does a great job
every

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single day keeping me in line.

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(Applause)

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Just two other thank-yous.

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To our men and women in
uniform all around

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the world, we pray for them.

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(Applause)

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Many of them
doing such great

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work to keep us safe.

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And then there is one
colleague of mine

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who is missing today.

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A great friend of mine
who I came

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into the Senate with, Senator Tom Coburn.

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Tom is going through some
tough times right

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now but I love him dearly
even though

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we're from different parties.

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He's a little closer
to Louie's political

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perspective than mine but
he is a good man

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and I'm keeping him and his family

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in my prayers all the time.

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So just a shout-out to my
good friend, Tom Coburn.

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(Applause)

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So each time we gather,
it's a chance to set aside

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the rush of our daily
lives; to pause with

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humility before an
Almighty God;

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to seek His grace; and, mindful
of our own imperfections,

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to remember the admonition
from the Book of Romans,

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which is especially
fitting for those

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of us in Washington: "Do not
claim to be wiser than you are."

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So here we put aside
labels of party and

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ideology, and recall what
we are first: all children

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of a loving God; brothers
and sisters called

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to make His work our own.

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But in this work, as
Lincoln said, our concern

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should not be whether
God is on our side, but

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whether we are
on God's side.

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And here we give thanks
for His guidance in our

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own individual
faith journeys.

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In my life, He directed
my path to Chicago and my

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work with churches who
were intent on breaking

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the cycle of poverty

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in hard-hit communities there.

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And I'm grateful not only
because I was broke

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and the church fed me,
but because

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it led to everything else.

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It led me to embrace Jesus
Christ

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as my Lord and Savior.

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It led me to Michelle --
the love of my life --

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and it blessed us with two
extraordinary daughters.

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It led me to
public service.

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And the longer I serve,
especially in moments

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of trial or doubt, the more
thankful

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I am of God's guiding hand.

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Now, here, as Americans,
we affirm the freedoms

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endowed by our Creator,

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among them freedom of religion.

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And, yes, this freedom
safeguards religion,

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allowing us to flourish as
one of the most religious

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countries on Earth, but it
works the other way,

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too -- because religion
strengthens America.

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Brave men and women of
faith have challenged

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our conscience and brought
us closer to our founding

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ideals, from the abolition
of slavery

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to civil rights, workers' rights.

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So many of you carry on
this good work today --

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for the child who deserves
a school worthy of his

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dreams; for the parents
working overtime to pull

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themselves out of poverty;
for the immigrants

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who want to step out of the
shadows and become

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a full member of our American
family; for the young girl

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who prays for rescue from
the modern slavery

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of human trafficking, an
outrage

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that we must all join together to end.

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Through our Office
of Faith-Based

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and Neighborhood Partnerships,
led by Melissa Rogers,

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we're proud to work with
you on this

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and many other issues.

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And I invite you to join
us in a new initiative

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that I announced in my
State of the Union

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address -- an effort to help
more young men of color

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overcome the odds, because
so many boys

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in this country need that mentor
to help them become

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a man and a good father.

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I've felt the love that
faith can instill

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in our lives during my visits

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to the Holy Land and Jerusalem --

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sacred to Jews and Christians and Muslims.

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I've felt it in houses of
worship -- whether paying

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my respects at the tomb of
Archbishop Romero

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in San Salvador, or visiting a
synagogue

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on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the
Blue Mosque in Istanbul

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or a Buddhist temple
in Bangkok.

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And I've felt the
compassion of so many

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faith leaders around the
world, and I am especially

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looking forward to
returning to the Vatican

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next month to meet His
Holiness, Pope Francis,

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whose message about caring
for the "least of these"

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is one that I hope
all of us heed.

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Like Matthew, he has
answered

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the call of Jesus, who said
"follow me," and he inspires

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us with his words and deeds,
his humility,

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his mercy and his missionary
impulse to serve

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the cause of social justice.

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Yet even as our faith
sustains us,

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it's also clear that around the
world freedom

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of religion is under threat.

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And that is what I want to
reflect on this morning.

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We see governments
engaging in discrimination

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and violence against
the faithful.

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We sometimes see religion
twisted in an attempt

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to justify hatred and
persecution against other

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people just because of who
they are,

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or how they pray or who they love.

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Old tensions are stoked,
fueling conflicts along

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religious lines, as
we've seen in the Central

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African Republic recently,
even though to harm anyone

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in the name of faith
is to diminish our own

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relationship with God.

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Extremists succumb to an
ignorant nihilism that

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shows they don't
understand the faiths they

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claim to profess --
for the killing of the

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innocent is never
fulfilling God's will;

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in fact, it's the ultimate
betrayal of God's will.

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Today, we profess the
principles

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we know to be true.

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We believe that each of us
is "wonderfully made"

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in the image of God.

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We, therefore, believe in
the inherent dignity

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of every human being --
dignity that no earthly

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power can take away.

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And central to that
dignity is freedom

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of religion -- the right of
every person

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to practice their faith how they
choose, to change their

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faith if they choose, or
to practice no faith

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at all, and to do this free
from persecution and fear.

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Our faith teaches us that
in the face of suffering,

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we can't stand idly by and
that we must

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be that Good Samaritan.

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In Isaiah, we're
told "to do right.

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Seek justice.

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Defend the oppressed."

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The Torah commands:
"Know the feelings

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of the stranger, having
yourselves been strangers

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in the land of Egypt."

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The Koran instructs:

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"Stand out firmly for justice."

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So history shows that
nations that uphold

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the rights of their people --
including the freedom

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of religion -- are ultimately
more just

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and more peaceful and
more successful.

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Nations that do not uphold
these rights

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sow the bitter seeds of instability

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and violence and extremism.

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So freedom of religion

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matters to our national security.

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(Applause)

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As I've said before, there
are times when

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we work with governments that
don't always meet

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our highest standards, but
they're working with

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us on core interests such as the
security

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of the American people.

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At the same time, we also
deeply believe

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that it's in our interest, even
with our partners,

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sometimes with our friends, to stand

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up for universal human rights.

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So promoting religious
freedom

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is a key objective

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of U.S. foreign policy.

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And I'm proud that no
nation on Earth

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does more to stand up for the
freedom of religion around

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the world than the
United States of America.

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(Applause)

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It is not always
comfortable

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to do, but it is right.

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When I meet with Chinese
leaders --

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and we do a lot of business with
the Chinese,

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and that relationship is
extraordinarily important

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not just to our two
countries but to the world

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-- but I stress that
realizing China's

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potential rests on
upholding universal

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rights, including for
Christians, and Tibetan

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Buddhists, and
Uighur Muslims.

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(Applause)

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When I meet with the
President of Burma,

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a country that is trying
to emerge

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out of a long darkness into the
light of a representative

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government, I've said
that Burma's return

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to the international community
depends

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on respecting basic freedoms,

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including for Christians and Muslims.

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I've pledged our support
to the people of Nigeria,

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who deserve to worship in
their churches

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and mosques in peace, free
from terror.

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I've put the weight of my
office behind the efforts

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to protect the people of
Sudan and South Sudan,

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including religious
minorities.

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As we support Israelis
and Palestinians as they

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engage in direct talks,
we've made clear that

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lasting peace will require
freedom of worship

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and access to holy sites
for all faiths.

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I want to take this
opportunity to thank

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Secretary Kerry for his
extraordinary passion and

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principled diplomacy that
he's brought

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to the cause of peace in the
Middle East.

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Thank you, John.

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(Applause)

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More broadly, I've made
the case that

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no society can truly succeed
unless it guarantees the rights

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of all its peoples,

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including religious minorities, whether

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they're Ahmadiyya Muslims in
Pakistan, or Baha'i in Iran,

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or Coptic Christians in Egypt.

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And in Syria, it means
ensuring a place

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for all people -- Alawites and
Sunni, Shia and Christian.

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Going forward, we
will keep standing

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for religious freedom
around the world.

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And that includes, by the
way, opposing blasphemy

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and defamation of religion
measures,

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which are promoted sometimes as
an expression of religion,

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but, in fact, all too
often can be used

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to suppress religious
minorities.

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(Applause) We continue
to stand for the rights

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of all people to practice
their faiths

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in peace and in freedom.

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And we will continue to
stand against the ugly

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tide of anti-Semitism that
rears

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it's ugly head all too often.

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I look forward to
nominating our next

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ambassador-at-large for
international religious

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freedom to help
lead these efforts.

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And we're moving ahead
with our new strategy

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to partner more closely with
religious leaders and

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faith communities as we
carry

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out our foreign policy.

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And I want to thank Shaun
Casey,

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from the Wesley Theological
Seminary, for leading this work

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at the State Department.

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Shaun I think is here
today and we want to thank

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him for the outstanding
work that he's doing.

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(Applause)

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Thank you, Shaun.

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(Applause)

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So around the world we're
elevating our engagement

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with faith leaders and
making

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00:15:52,367 --> 00:15:54,837
it a regular part of our diplomacy.

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And today, I invite you
to join us in focusing on

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several pressing
challenges.

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Let's do more together
to advance human rights,

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including
religious freedom.

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Let's do more to promote
the development

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that Raj describes -- from
ending extreme poverty

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to saving lives, from HIV/AIDS
to combating climate change

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so that we can preserve
God's incredible creation.

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On all these issues,
faith leaders and faith

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organizations here in the
United States and around

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the world are incredible
partners,

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and we're grateful to them.

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And in contrast to those
who wield religion

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to divide us, let's do more
to nurture the dialogue

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between faiths that can
break cycles of conflict

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and build true peace,
including

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in the Holy Land.

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And finally, as we build
the future we seek,

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let us never forget those who
are persecuted today,

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among them Americans of faith.

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We pray for Kenneth Bae, a
Christian missionary who's

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been held in North Korea
for 15 months,

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sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

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His family wants him home.

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And the United States will
continue to do everything

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in our power to secure his
release because Kenneth

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Bae deserves to be free.

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(Applause)

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We pray for Pastor
Saeed Abedini.

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He's been held in Iran
for more than 18 months,

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00:17:23,834 --> 00:17:25,764
sentenced to eight years
in prison on charges

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relating to his
Christian beliefs.

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And as we continue to work
for his freedom, today,

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00:17:31,467 --> 00:17:34,037
again, we call on the
Iranian government

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00:17:34,033 --> 00:17:37,763
to release Pastor Abedini
so he can return

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to the loving arms of his wife
and children in Idaho.

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(Applause)

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And as we pray for all
prisoners of conscience,

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whatever their faiths,
wherever they're held,

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let's imagine what it
must be like for them.

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We may not know their
names, but all around the

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00:18:06,934 --> 00:18:09,404
world there are people
who are waking

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00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:14,570
up in cold cells, facing another
day of confinement, another

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00:18:14,567 --> 00:18:19,167
day of unspeakable
treatment, simply because

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they are affirming God.

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Despite all they've
endured, despite all the

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00:18:24,367 --> 00:18:29,797
awful punishments if
caught, they will wait for

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that moment when the
guards aren't looking,

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and when they can close their
eyes and bring

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their hands together and pray.

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In those moments of peace,
of grace, those moments

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when their faith is tested
in ways that those

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00:18:43,834 --> 00:18:49,034
of us who are more comfortable
never experience; in those

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00:18:49,033 --> 00:18:51,803
far-away cells, I believe
their

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unbroken souls are made stronger.

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And I hope that somehow
they hear our prayers for

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00:19:01,734 --> 00:19:06,904
them, that they know that,
along with the spirit

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00:19:06,900 --> 00:19:12,000
of God, they have our spirit
with them as well,

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and that they are not alone.

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Today we give humble
thanks for the freedoms

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we cherish in this country.

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And I join you in seeking
God's grace

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in all of our lives.

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I pray that His wisdom
will give us the capacity

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to do right and to seek
justice,

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and defend the oppressed
wherever they may dwell.

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I want to thank all of
you for the extraordinary

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00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:37,930
privilege of being
here this morning.

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I want to ask you for your
prayers as I continue

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in this awesome privilege
and responsibility

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as President of the
United States.

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May God bless the United
States of America,

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and God bless all those who
seek peace and justice.

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Thank you very much.

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(Applause.)