resident Bush signed another Executive Order this past week expanding his faith-based initiative and opening up the budgets of all federal agencies to religious groups seeking to operate social service programs.

   Speaking at a conference in Philadelphia, Bush told a cheering crowd of over 1,500 ministers and other supporters that he was seeking a "level playing field" in permitting churches and other houses of worship to compete with secular charities in obtaining government funding for a stunning array of outreach activities -- everything from job training to running soup kitchens and medical clinics.

   "If a charity is helping the needy, it should not matter if there is a rabbi on the board, or a cross or a crescent on the wall, or a religious commitment in the charter," the President declared.

   At times, the conference -- sponsored by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives -- resembled a political rally. Shouts of "Tell it!" and "Oh, yes!" punctuated the boisterous applause as Bush declared that an era of government discrimination "against religion" was coming to an end.

   "No government policy can put hope in people's hearts or a sense of purpose in people's lives," Bush added. "That is done when someone, some good soul puts an arm around a neighbor and says, God loves you, and I love you, and you can count on us both."

   The President then stunned conferees and critics when he then announced that he was signing yet another Executive Order to ramp-up his faith-based funding initiative.

   "Every person in every government agency will know where the President stands," said Bush. "And every person will have the responsibility to ensure a level playing field for faith-based organizations in federal programs."

   He cryptically added, "No funds will be used to directly support inherently religious activities; yet no organization that qualifies for funds will ever be forced to change its identity."

   Bush did not outline any plans for supervision of grants, or on-site monitoring to ensure that religious group would comply with federal guidelines or the constitutional separation of church and state.

   "And secondly," Bush told the conference, "I have directed specific action in several federal agencies with a history of discrimination against faith-based groups. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) will revise its policy on emergency relief so that religious nonprofit groups can qualify for assistance after disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. HUD and HHS (Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Health and Human Services), which provide so much grant money to communities across America, will revise their regulations to reflect the principle of nondiscrimination."

   The Philadelphia conference -- the first of several scheduled for the coming months -- was also used to unveil the latest resources guiding and encouraging religious groups in navigating the federal fund-granting labyrinth. These include a "guidebook," which Mr. Bush praised as a way of stimulating "more and more faith-based charities to become partners in our efforts, our unyielding efforts to change America one heart, one conscience, one soul at a time..."

   The small print in Bush's Executive Order creates more government powers for the fledgling White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and greater participation by other federal agencies in assisting religious groups. Included are programs covering "child care services, protective services for children and adults ... foster care, adoption services, services related to the management and maintenance of the home, day care services ... services to meet the special needs of children, older individuals, and individuals with disabilities ... transportation services ... job training and related services, and employment services ... information, referral and counseling services ... the preparation and delivery of meals and services related to soup kitchens or food banks, health support services, literacy and mentoring programs, services for the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency and substance abuse, services for the prevention of crime and the provision of assistance to the victims and the families of criminal offenders, and services related to intervention in, and prevention of, domestic violence ... services related to the provision of assistance for housing under Federal law."

   The White House is empowered to coordinated the activities of various federal agencies in expanding government outreach, funding and training for the faith-based community.

   Although Bush signed one Executive Order, what appears to be a second Presidential order is, in fact, now posted on the White House web site reflecting an even broader scope for the faith initiative. This document commands the "Establishment of Centers for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the Department of Agriculture and the Agency for International Development." The directors of these new federal offices are required to report to Jim Towey, head of the White House OFBCI.

   The new departmental bureaus are ordered to "coordinate a comprehensive agency effort to incorporate faith-based and other community organizations in agency programs and initiatives to the greatest extent possible" and "propose initiatives to remove barriers ... including but not limited to reform of regulations, procurement and other internal policies and practices, and outreach activities" pertinent to faith-based organizations.

   In addition the Department of Agriculture and AID are required to institute "innovative pilot and demonstration projects to increase the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in Federal as well as State and local initiatives..."

   During his speech to the Philadelphia cleric gathering, Bush minimized any concerns over whether the program violates the separation of church and state as many critics claim.

   "In government, we're still fighting old attitudes, habits and rules that discriminate against religious groups for no good purpose," Bush said. He cited the cases of a rescue mission that "was told to return grant money to the government because the mission's board of directors was not secular enough," and a homeless shelter in South Dakota that was denied a grant because "voluntary prayers were offered before meals."

   These cases, though, were more complex than Bush represented them to be.

   For instance, the Victory Center Rescue Mission in Iowa received $367,000 in 1998 thanks to a grant from the Clinton administration. "After the homeless shelter's board was questioned about its lack of diversity," wrote the Des Moines, Iowa Register newspaper, "the mission opted out of the federal program ... The rescue mission was sold to another organization that was in compliance with the grant guidelines."

   The case of the St. Francis House Homeless Shelter in South Dakota was also not detailed by Mr. Bush. In fact, shelter officials decided to substitute a disingenuous "moment of silence" instead of the sectarian prayer which clients were pressured to participate in as a requirement for receiving a meal.

   Among the provisions of the Bush Executive Orders is one which so far has doomed the federal faith-based initiative to legislative gridlock on Capitol Hill. Religious groups will be receiving public money through various government grants although they might discriminate on the basis of faith. A church, mosque, synagogue or other sectarian organization would still be eligible for federal revenue even if it refused to hire people of different faiths, or those who fail a religious litmus test of some kind in respect to sexual orientation or lifestyle.

   In addition, private contractors can operate with federal money even if they display religious icons like crosses or a menorah. The language of the Executive Order suggests that they, too, may be able to argue the "faith exemption" if challenged in court.

   So far, courts have not taken up the constitutionality of Bush's faith-based initiative, nor has Congress authorized any money. The President has "forged ahead on his own," note wire service news reports, and essentially ordered a re-writing of federal departmental regulations in order to energize and subsidize the program. Bush, for instance, said that changes in regulations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development free up about $8 billion in potential grants for religious groups, with another $1 billion available for operating "after-school programs."

   No one knows an exact figure, but the entire faith-based tab could reach more than $60 billion for this year alone.

   Bush has relied exclusively on Executive Orders to create and fund his White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Less than two weeks after his inauguration, the new President signed two Orders creating the federal office and ordering key government Departments to create liaison offices with the religious community in order to encourage social welfare outreaches.

   One Congressional measure to fund the faith-based initiative, H.R. 7 or the Community Solutions Act cleared the House of representatives but stalled in the Senate. Despite White House pressure and a full-court press by Republican and Democratic leadership, a scaled down version known as CARE ("Charity Aid, Recovery and Empowerment Act" or S. 1924) has met with little success as well. Critics have raised concern over the discrimination issue, and even with Republicans coming back to Capitol Hill next month in control of both houses, the fate of the measure remains uncertain.

   Randall Wilson, legal director with the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, described Mr. Bush's Executive Order strategy as a "landslide in the geography of separation of church and state."

   He added that the Bush scheme lacks a way to guarantee that public money is not used for religious purposes, especially in social programs saturated by proselytizing.

   "This is really just a way to subsidize mainstream religious organizations that apply for federal grants," Wilson told the Register. "People will have to go, in many instances, to an organization that proselytizes them to receive government-supported services."

   Back in Philadelphia, though, the President found a credulous and enthusiastic audience hungry for the lucre of public subsidies.

   "It's very encouraging," gushed the senior pastor of an Illinois Baptist church. "It (the Bush initiative) will reinforce what many of us are trying to do."

   The Executive Order also drew praise from Roman Catholic officials who are busy courting government subsidies in the form of vouchers in order to operate and expand the sprawling parochial school system throughout the country.

   "I thought it was a tremendous speech," said Msgr. Timothy Senior of Catholic Social Services for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. "He (Bush) articulates a vision that resonates with people of faith."

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