Religion News Service | Who’s praying at Trump’s inauguration? A mix of supporters, critics and firsts

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez will be the first Hispanic evangelical leader to participate in a presidential inauguration, according to NPR.

Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and senior pastor at New Season Christian Worship Center in Sacramento, Calif., responded with a statement saying there is “truly no greater honor than to serve one’s country in such a special way on such a momentous occasion.” He reportedly will read from the Beatitudes, according to TIME.

But that doesn’t mean he’s without criticisms or suggestions for the president-elect.

Rodriguez wrote in an op-ed for RNS that the president-elect’s comments during the campaign “were hurtful to many Hispanics, myself included,” though he since has told NPR he’s noted a “change in tone” over the past few weeks.

And days before the inauguration, he signed onto a letter with rabbis Abraham Cooper and Yitzchok Adlerstein that urged Trump to appoint a National Commission for Healing, noting the “bitterly divisive political, racial and religious rhetoric that has torn our national unity to shreds.” Cooper is associate dean at the Wiesenthal Center.

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