Pa. Senate allows pastor's Jesus prayer

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 30 (UPI) -- A pastor was allowed to say a prayer including the name of Jesus Christ before the Pennsylvania Senate despite a prior conflict, an official says.

Drew Crompton, state Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati's legal counsel, said the recent prayer from the Rev. Gerry Stoltzfoos of Gettysburg, Pa., came after the pastor was asked in June to offer a non-denominational prayer to the state House of Representatives, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said Thursday.

"We want diversity, but we don't want to regulate speech," Crompton said of the state Senate's prayer decision.

Stoltzfoos, who chose not to offer a prayer to the House due to the non-denominational request, alluded to such religious conflicts during his Senate prayer on Wednesday.

"I am painfully aware that there are many here today who have embraced belief systems other than mine. I am not here to say that everyone ought to believe as I do. But I can only pray to my God," he said. "If you believe in some other power, I invite you to address yours as I address mine."