One of the Republican lawmakers tasked with finding a replacement for House chaplain Patrick Conroy, S.J., said that he believes the next chaplain should be a married person with children since she or he can provide better pastoral care, a comment some are saying smacks of anti-Catholic bias.
Representative Mark Walker of North Carolina, a Southern Baptist minister, said he wanted Father Conroy’s successor to be somebody with children, which would preclude nearly all Catholic priests and nuns.
“I’m looking for somebody who has a little age, that has adult children, that kind of can connect with the bulk of the body here,” Mr. Walker said on Thursday.
Representative Mark Walker of North Carolina said he wanted Father Conroy’s successor to be somebody with children.
While Mr. Walker said that this desire does not explicitly rule out a Catholic chaplain, he said that “when you walk the journey of having a kid back home that’s struggling or made some bad decisions, or when you have a separation situation, or your wife’s not understanding the [congressional] schedule, having somebody who’s walked in those shoes allows you to immediately relate a little bit more than others.”
John Whitney, S.J., pastor of St. Joseph Church in Seattle and a former provincial superior of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, said he has known Father Conroy since 1983. He told America that he is hesitant to call Mr. Walker’s remarks “anti-Catholic” but he said they demonstrate an “ignorance” about pastoral ministry.
“The fact that we don’t have families may mean that we have less personal experience of raising children, but it allows us to be available, to come without a lot of baggage,” he said, adding that when it comes to ministry, there are “advantages and disadvantages to not being married and not having children.”
Timone Davis, who teaches pastoral theology and black Catholic theology at Loyola University Chicago’s Institute for Pastoral Studies, told America that providing pastoral care has more to do with being able to listen and focus on a “common humanity” than with sharing a similar background.
One priest told America that Mr. Walker’s remarks demonstrate an “ignorance” about pastoral ministry.
Ms. Davis said if sharing life experience was prerequisite for effective ministry, then that would mean “a white person cannot be attentive to a Latino or an African-American as a chaplain because they don’t know what that’s like.”
“That’s totally absurd to me,” she said.
She said a minister sharing experience with someone in his or her care could even make providing effective counseling more difficult.
“Experience only opens the door to our own stuff,” she said. “If we have not addressed our own issues, that doesn’t help us be present.”
“What being present, to me, means, can I listen to you and hear what you have to say and then address the needs you have presented,” Ms. Davis said. “That doesn’t mean I have to have experience in what you’ve presented. But I do need to be able to hear you and offer suggestions that may not be related to experiences in my own life.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan requested that Father Conroy submit his resignation, but the priest told The New York Times he does not know why.
House Speaker Paul Ryan requested that Father Conroy submit his resignation, but the priest told The New York Times he does not know why. Some reports say it was because of a prayer he delivered in November that some Republicans interpreted as partisan, while others say that the priest, only the second Catholic to hold the post, was not providing effective pastoral care. On Friday, House Democrats called for an investigation into why Father Conroy was fired, but it failed in a vote along party lines.
In a statement issued Friday, Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House’s highest-ranking Democrat, called the decision to fire Father Conroy “truly sad” and “bewildering” and suggested that Mr. Ryan lacked the power to fire the chaplain, who was elected to a two-year term by the House.
“It is my hope that we will honor Father Conroy’s service by pursuing justice and making clear the true motivations of this unjust action. I have expressed my forceful disagreement with this decision to the Speaker,” Ms. Pelosi said.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Ryan told America that the speaker “made the decision he believes to be in the best interest of the House.”
A spokeswoman for Mr. Ryan told America that the speaker “made the decision he believes to be in the best interest of the House, and he remains grateful for Father Conroy’s many years of service.”
While Mr. Walker’s suggestion may rankle some Catholics, it comes at a time when some Catholic leaders have suggested something similar.
For example, last October, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who heads the Vatican’s family office, said that married couples may provide better marriage preparation to young people than priests.
Priests, he said, “don’t have credibility” when it comes to marriage preparation because they have not “lived in the reality of the situation, and therefore it’s very difficult for them to accompany.”
Laypeople, he said, “can best accompany married couples in moments of difficulty and moments of challenge.”
His comments echo the writings of Pope Francis, who laid out his vision for pastoral ministry to families in his 2016 apostolic exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia.”
“It could also be helpful to ask older married couples to help younger couples in the neighbourhood by visiting them and offering guidance in the early years of marriage,” the pope wrote.
Still, the issue of marriage preparation is seen as an intra-family conversation, leading some normally conservative voices to call out Mr. Walker’s comments.
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, a watchdog group that tracks what it sees as anti-Catholic bias in politics and culture, also weighed in on the controversy.
At the end of a blog post published on Friday, which criticized multiple Democrats and Republicans, in some cases for statements made nearly two decades ago, the organization said: “There is no role for anti-Catholicism in politics. This means that no priest should ever be disqualified for the House Chaplain position because he is celibate.”
Raymond Arroyo, the host of a talk show on the Eternal Word Television Network and Fox News contributor, tweeted that Mr. Walker’s comments have “an anti-Catholic edge.”
As for Father Conroy, Father Whitney said his Jesuit colleague possesses “terrific” pastoral skills and that his “folksy” style has won him fans from a range of people he has encountered in ministry, from high school and college students to members of Congress. He said he believes the chaplain’s firing is a “sad commentary on how divided we are as a country” and said if reports that the priest was fired because of a prayer about taxes, it shows a “dangerous” level of polarization.
“To think a Jesuit priest would be fired because of praying for equity and a sense of responsibility, it shows how polarized we have become,” he said. “Where are we safe from this polarization?”
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I hear plenty of bias about Jesuits from Catholics, never mind anyone else. It's a good sign they're on the right track, frankly. [Readers here: If the shoe fits....]
This incident confirms, yet again, that Paul Ryan is a flaming hypocrite who uses his Catholicism as a fig leaf to hide his moral bankruptcy.
The Protestants await you, Rose.
I would recommend a female chaplain. I am sure they recognize the need for spiritual mothers. Too bad it cannot be a female Catholic priest, let alone a female Catholic Jesuit priest. By the way, why is it that we don't even have Jesuit nuns? I wonder if St Ignatius also suffered from "holy misogyny." Didn't he compare the devil to a woman?
Yes there is bias. Only Republicans have installed a Catholic chaplain? There have been only two both installed under Republicans in the last 18 years.
The Democrats controlled the house for most of the 20th Century and never installed a Catholic chaplain. So are the Democrats bigots?
What is incredible is the attempt to make this political. Three articles in one day often with a slant in one direction.
Hmmm. This is the 1st comment to name political parties. So I guess someone is, in fact, making a political statement.
America, the magazine, made this political from the get go. In the very first sentence of his first article Mr. O'Loughlin says "Republican." He does the same in this article. So it obvious this was a political set of articles. Trying to say this is not political by America, the magazine, is absurd.
This is the third article in less than one day, all slanted politically. I was merely pointing out the irony of the political bias by Mr. O'Loughlin and others here especially when he uses the word "bIas" in his headline. To emphasize the irony I had to name political parties just as Mr. O'Loughlin did.
Maybe the headline should be
"Maybe the headline should be: Do reactions to the firing of Jesuit House chaplain at America show anti-Republican bias?"
A better one for you would be "how can you Cosgrove the Russian Troll best inject his own political bias and anti-Christocentric misreading of the Bible and Christ's example into every discussion."
I have been to Russia once on a cruise ship last summer that stopped in St. Petersburg. . I do know one word of Russian, "nyet." I liked Sweden better than Russia and my grandmother was Swedish so maybe it is best to describe me as a Swedish troll.
My anti-misreading of the Bible must come from my Jesuit college education. I doubt it came from the nuns and Christian Brothers who taught me for 12 years. The Jesuits I had, emphasized evidence and logic in an argument. So I have to plead guilty to using logic and facts. It appears to do so on the America site in these times makes one a troll. What is preferred here are subjective feelings and not objective thinking.
Thanks again for your consistent and supportive words. Your comments on my posts always reinforce my point of view. Since you only mock me and never refute my comments it can only mean you agree. I couldn't ask for anything more.
If Mr. Ryan is retiring why does he care who the Chaplain is? I’ve heard and read more antiCatholc bias from so-called Catholic leaders like Ryan and Rubio than from the so-called secular humanists, leftist, they are supposedly protecting from. When all all these “Christians” going to stand up for those who need then the most?
Mr. O'Loughlin, Fr. Whitney, and Prof. Davis all seem to be operating under the assumption that to be a Catholic minister one must be ordained, or at least a woman religious. In fact, trained, compassionate, effective, lay Catholic ministers have been around for a long time. Rep. Walker's desire for a chaplain who has a partner and children can only be construed as intrinsically anti-Catholic if one dismisses out of hand a very large number of excellent--even holy!--ministers in our Church.
RE: "and suggested that Mr. Ryan lacked the power to fire the chaplain, who was elected to a two-year term by the House."
My understanding is that on the Senate side, they vote on their chaplain. I have believed that the same is true n the House side. I believe that Mr. Ryan lacked the power to either hire or fire the chaplain.
Does anyone have any better information?
Maybe Ryan thought it was time for another denomination to be appointed? They have had a Roman Catholic chaplain since 2003. Although that is not long compared to the prior ones (1st - 107th Congress).
108th Congress (2003–2005) The Reverend Daniel P. COUGHLIN Roman Catholic Jan 07, 2003
109th Congress (2005–2007) The Reverend Daniel P. COUGHLIN Roman Catholic Jan 04, 2005
110th Congress (2007–2009) The Reverend Daniel P. COUGHLIN Roman Catholic Jan 04, 2007
111th Congress (2009–2011) The Reverend Daniel P. COUGHLIN Roman Catholic Jan 06, 2009
112th Congress (2011–2013) The Reverend Daniel P. COUGHLIN 12 Roman Catholic Jan 05, 2011
112th Congress (2011–2013) The Reverend Patrick J. CONROY Roman Catholic May 25, 2011
113th Congress (2013–2015) The Reverend Patrick J. CONROY Roman Catholic Jan 03, 2013
114th Congress (2015–2017) The Reverend Patrick J. CONROY Roman Catholic Jan 06, 2015
115th Congress (2017–2019) The Reverend Patrick J. CONROY Roman Catholic Jan 03, 2017
The House history of the House chaplain has Fr. Coughlin starting in 2000.
He was appointed by Denny Hassert and there apparently was a lot of controversy at the appointment of a Catholic. John Boehner nominated Fr. Conroy.
The Catholic Church does have older priests who have adult children. Converts to the Catholic Church who were Anglican.
I find this all rather amusing ... and am certain that Fr. Conroy will land on his feet! I read one of his "Red Mass" addresses and was just "pleased" with his homily. I am sure he's a great guy and would like to have a meal with him.
All religious groups in the United States are minorities, and it's probably just someone else's turn. Maybe it's time for United Disciples of Christ, or an LDS'r, Lubavitscher.. Ex ecclesia nulla has been banished to the dustbin of history.
Even Jesus wouldn’t make the criteria for this crowd.
Indeed.
All the polarization in American society, politics and the Church is scary. This situation is another example. How will we get past this time period and start working together again. I have no answers...but wish I did.
If "sharing life experience was prerequisite for effective ministry", that explains the divisiveness, unnecessary partisanship, and rancor we consistently see in Congress. From both sides. There was a quote from Espresso a while ago that defined "compromise" as "both sides agreeing to do what is wrong." We *never* see compromise anymore, so we never see progress. This action against Fr. Conroy is sadly typical.
Someday, Catholic hierarchy will understand that many if not most evangelicals believe that Catholics are the devil incarnate. They may be Christians but they know darn well that Catholics are not because we are not "born again".
Be that as it may. Why is there any kind of Chaplain in the Congress? Does separation of church and state end at capitol hill? As to Fr. Conroy not providing spiritual support, who is kidding whom? Our Congress does so little they have more than enough time to seek their own spiritual counselors. They hardly need one on the payroll!
As to Paul Ryan? Behaviour speaks for itself.
Regarding Rep. Mark Walker's suggestion, I would suggest a Permanent Deacon. As a priest who has served as a pastor and hospital chaplain, my respect for our deacons and their wives who are their partners has grown by leaps and bounds. They provide the heart and soul of Roman Catholic Ministry in our communities.
Rev. Thomas S. Donio
On the first story published on this topic on this site, long before the reactions became public and the topic a political issue, I wrote:
“Am I to presume that the position is at the behest and prerogative of the Speaker of the House? In which case, the Speaker exercised his prerogative.
BUT, (there’s always a “BUT”) who will replace Fr. Conroy? Let me guess…a good, old-fashioned, down home, evangelical preacher?...a Muslim imam?.....a Jewish rabbi?....how about a nun chaplain?...a Hindu priest?...a Shinto priest?...the list is unending. Perhaps in this one way the Speaker finally recognizes the need for diversity in the US House of Representatives. I look forward to his choice.”
I relish the fact that my first guess for a replacement seemingly fits the needs of some Congresspeople!
But, my real reaction to all the comments on this website for all the stories about the issue is the following: the Catholic conservatives who post here have “en masse” defended the forced resignation with little regard to either the facts, the alleged “political” prayer, or the anti-Catholic sentiments and biases expressed by too many Republicans in defense of Ryan’s decision. Oh yes, and they also proclaim religious discrimination loud and clear constantly. It provides me a big loud laugh!
Vince
Your interesting use of the verb "relish"betrays a deep antipathy to evangelicals that you more directly expressed in February 2017 on the death of Billy Graham where you stated: .."Ecumenical politeness not withstanding, he was a heretic".
The focus of course of the above article was about a perceived bias against Catholics..You have managed to neatly reverse the direction of the bias
Hey Stuart,
I can always count on your comments!
I have no sense of your familiarity or interactions with "evangelicals." I know some who are as ecumenical as I hope to be. However, I also know some who refuse to accept that Catholics are Christians, enough so to refuse to hear what a Catholic says. My perceived bias against Catholics, for the most part I find, comes from other Christians in this society. That has been my experience. If not yours, then you have entirely different perspectives.
As for one of my favorite statements, my conservative Christian friends have a hard time with my expressing what other Christians are vis-a-vis Catholicism. You cannot change the fact that we define other Christians separated from the Church as heretics. If we do not, then it might explain why so many of us abandon the Church for more self-satisfying interpretations of the Christian message. I have said it before, I say it again. The evangelical strain has in some instances infected USA Catholic thinking and some of our Bishops have fallen into the trap.
I did not "neatly reverse the direction of the bias." I just made plain from where it comes.
Vinny
Vince
I believe the word "heretic" (as applied to non catholic Christian churches) with all of its kindred anthamas was consigned to the dustbin with the excommunication of Leonard Feeney and the repudiation of "extra ecclesiam nulla salus". ....And certainly by St John XXIII's fresh air policy.
I find it odd that "a progressive Catholic" would try to resurrect the epithet some 60+ years later. I had thought that to be progressive meant, inter alia, to have unyielding respect for differences.....frequently to the point of engaging in perpetual relativism.
Hey Stuart,
Do you really have a difficult time applying the standard Catholic definition of "heretic" to those it describes? I do not. I don't hurl it at them, however, if that is what you imply. In my Catholic context, I certainly have no problem addressing them as such, especially when they repudiate the Catholic Church in their context as being the "whore of Babylon" etc. And some of those good buddies of Trump actually believe that! Just read some of their comments over the years. Nor have I “resurrected the epithet” – to my mind not an epithet, rather a definitional word in my context – after 60 years. It has always been in my vocabulary since Catholic grammar school. You never learned about heretics? We damned well burned enough of them in our history, haven’t we?
I don’t know why Ryan dumped Father Conroy. He had the right to do it from what I can figure out. But some of the Congressional comments about finding a chaplain more amenable to Protestant sensibilities and beliefs was just anti-Catholic and offensively so, from obviously a heretic! They still exist, Stuart!
Vinny
Vince
You quite correctly note the Catholic grammar school tradition of finding "heretics" on every street corner by the good nuns of yesteryore. But you may recall that at such time they also found grevious sin in meat on Friday;ads for feminine hygiene products; the attendance at a wedding or funeral in a non Catholic Church ( oh! The Scandal!!); and a lesser (but still notable) sin for those first communicants who appeared to "chew" the host. And yes we Catholics burned a lot of "heretics" and forced the conversion or ghettoisation of those anti-Christ Muslims and Jews.
But it was precisely the baggage of this historic past and the defensive approach of its time that rendered the phrase "heretic " toxic enough to be abandoned and repudiated by Vatican 1 and 2.
So while there are indeed evangelicals who associate Catholics with the "whore of Babylon " and "the Great Red Beast" of Revelation , there are Conservative Catholics who associate Evangelicals with "heretical pawns of Satan" whose very existence is a danger to their own faith.
Calling each other "heretics" may be self satisfying but is obviously unproductive. But I fear you know that all too well and chose to use the word "heretic" precisely to divide and cleave the political support of Evangelicals and Catholics for what you view as abhorrent right wing causes.
Stuart, it may not be "productive" to call individual PEOPLE "heretics," and I do, myself, try to avoid that term in discussions with Protestants. However, I DO think it is very important to identify "salvation by faith alone," and "sola scriptura," as well as "predestination," as very grave heresies--heresies that, in the historically "modern" period have done as much damage to traditional Christian "anthropology" (as the term was used by John Paul II to describe what human life is actually for), and to Christendom as a civilization, as the Arian and Gnostic heresies of the Early Church almost did to orthodoxy. "Salvation by faith alone," for example utterly wrecked indissoluble and sacramental Catholic marriage, as it struggled to survive in predominantly Protestant societies, because Luther used it as the basis for his justification in reversing Christ's prohibition against divorce, when he proclaimed that the Savior basically "gave us that commandment with His tongue far in his cheek" (as recorded in his "Table Talk")--in other words, to convict us of our sins, by giving us a commandment we must know we couldn't keep, because of our intrinsic (nice word, no? rings a bell?) "concupiscence." And then there are all the justifications for a predatory capitalist economy that find their support in that grave heresy.
Seems pretty obvious to me that what's going on here is a political ploy to rally the Evangelicals to show up at the polls this November. Catholics are a small percentage of the country and don't care all that much as to whom the house chaplain is; whereas Evangelicals are a huge group for whom the appointment of a house chaplain will make them pay attention.
Paul Ryan should not be the individual charged with the responsibility of dismissing a chaplain duly elected by the House representatives. Father Conroy was elected to a two year term and could be replaced by the next congress if that is their will. Short of a commission of a crime there is no real reason to end a two year term.
The House chaplain probably should refrain from expressing legislative views in his official homilies and prayers. I am not going to suggest that Paul Ryan is a self hating Catholic. And we do not know his actual reasons for his actions. It was wrong to both Father Conroy, and the House of Representatives, and us, to not reveal the reason for his dismissal.
However we cannot restrict denominations from serving in the chaplain capacity, regardless of our presumption of their beliefs or practices; a Jehovah's Witness may advise against blood transfusions if a congress person is shot at a softball game, a Rastafarian may be smoking pot on the capital steps. The Imam could be accused of advocating sharia law. Whittling down based on your own private beliefs will result in no one being acceptable in the end. Not all Protestants have children. Should a wounded war hero who is in a condition of forced celibacy be excluded? Are we going to rate the quality of our chaplains children? Do I want someone with perfectly good and respectful children to judge mine? We all come from families and we all have experiences. Those with great insight transcend their own social environment. It does come across as anti Catholic bigotry to advocate that only married people with children should be allowed to serve.
First, I hope Catholics don’t become like so many other “identity” groups and see anti-Catholicism in everything.
Second, we don’t know why Fr Conroy was asked to resign, so every reason suggested is pure speculation. Mr Ryan ought to be upfront about why Fr Conroy was asked to resign, for it seems even Fr Conroy doesn’t know.
If you’re not willing to fill in the blanks, there are plenty of people willing to do it for you, and their speculating will almost always assume the worst.
Next chaplain should be an atheist that worships money. Ryan should be comfortable with that. Glad this weasel is on the way out. Anyway, should be amply rewarded in retirement for delivering more cash to the fat cats. An example must be made.
I agree with. Ms. Davis, the teacher at Loyola University, that "providing pastoral care has more to do with being able to listen...than with sharing a similar background. " We're all made in God's image, but each one of us is unique. I'm a former long-time Democrat of more than 39 years (I 'm now 56) who several years ago became a "reluctant Republican" who often disagreed with typical Republican policies . I oppose capital punishment, support stringent gun control laws to help end gun violence, and while I'm not a pacifist, I admire their convictions. I favor war only as a last resort, after diplomatic efforts have been exhausted. Civilians must never be deliberately targeted, and nuclear weapons must never be used. Our government and Church must provide humanitarian assistance to impoverished nations. Also, our government should provide economic development to assist foreign nations in need. Finally, I do support restoring legal protection to the innocent unborn from the violence of abortion.
I'm white, but worked primarily with black women as a Special Education teacher and in various other capacities for more than 20 years at an agency that served disabled children and adults. Aside from personality differences, which I believe are natural, I got along well with most of my co-workers, regardless of race or sex. Also, a number of the staff in our agency's residential department were immigrants, primarily from Liberia, who had fled from a brutal civil war seeking a better life in our nation. Again, I got along well with most of the staff who were immigrants; I believe immigrants should be welcomed into our nation. Finally, I'm a gay Catholic who years ago had sex with men. However, I regretted my actions, and received forgiveness and consolation through the Sacrament of Reconciliation from a compassionate priest, my pastor, Monsignor Savinsky, who is kind enough to visit Kevin's a month for confession, the Eucharist, and Anointing of the Sick in the nursing home/rehabilitation center where I live. However, I believe marriage is the union of one man and one woman. I also have assisted my brother and sister in years past caring for their now adult children with love.
Since each one of us is unique, though we share ",common humanity," I believe that it's virtually impossible to have a Congressional chaplain who will meet the needs of the various members of Congress. Members of Congress differ by ( among other traits) gender, party, religion, sexual orientation, geographic home, marital status and age. Finally, I agree with Ms. Davis of Loyola University that being able to carefully listen to the stories of people is the paramount criteria for being a good chaplain.
Speaker Ryan will answer the question of whether there was "anti-Catholic bias" in suddenly dismissing the House's Jesuit chaplain when he announces a replacement. If it is, as I suspect it will be, a pro-Trump evangelical with a large media following then we'll have our answer.
Maybe some small portion of the reactions to the RESIGNING of the jesuit owe their origin to anti-catholic bias, but a larger percentage of the reactions are likely due to sound reasoning. jesuits in the US (especially of his generation) are known to be left-leaning agenda types.
He's been around long enough..time for some new blood; no more Jesuits for now. Get a solid Dominican or a Passionist.
Let the good jesuit priest return to a needy soup kitchen in the periphery. If he doesn't say Mass or give confessions there either, maybe he can start a blog.
The best example of anti-Catholic bias in Congress was in 2017 when America Magazine gave faux concern to its ugly appearance by none other than liberal Senator Diane Fesinstein. AM published an article on Feinstein but under the same mantle of crying out against Steve Bannon, who is a nobody. Feinstein is someone important in US politics. Yet liberals gave excuses and scant criticism to Diane Feinstein.
Notre Dame University president, Rev John Jenskins, CSC, said it best and it should be remembered:
“It is chilling to hear from a United States Senator that this might now disqualify someone from service as a federal judge. I ask you and your colleagues to respect those in whom “dogma lives loudly”—which is a condition we call faith. For the attempt to live such faith while one upholds the law should command respect, not evoke concern.”
https://news.nd.edu/news/letter-from-rev-john-i-jenkins-csc-to-us-sen-dianne-feinstein/
AM really needs to heed the call by Pope Francis and basic Catholic teaching: journalists can not foment fear, scandal nor misinform the public. Calumny is not a holy thing
Click/bait headlines are a scandal, AM.
Hate is hate. Stop it already