ICC Note: On Saturday the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill 400-1 that would re-instate military chaplains furloughed during the government shutdown. As part of the shutdown Catholic priests on government contracts have been forbidden from working, conducting services, or even volunteering their time with members of the military, leaving many U.S. servicemen with no options for religious services. Any priest who ignored the ban could technically be arrested.
10/07/2013 United States (Christian Post) – The House passed a bill on Saturday to let military chaplains hold services during the shutdown, as Catholic priests under government contract were not allowed to offer communion and other religious services on military bases. Priests could even get arrested for volunteering.
The House voted 400-1 to reinstate furloughed chaplains on a volunteer basis on Saturday afternoon. The one House member who was against the resolution is Rep. William Enyart, a Democrat from Illinois, according to NPR.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Doug Collins, a Republican from Georgia and a U.S. Air Force Reserve chaplain.
House Republicans were outraged by the fact that chaplains could be barred from offering services due to the shutdown. “Is it really the policy of this administration to make church services illegal? To threaten Catholic priests with jail?” asked Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a Republican from Kansas, during a debate on the measure.
“The constitutional rights of those who put their lives on the line for this nation do not end with a government slowdown,” Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo said in a statement Friday. “It is completely irresponsible for the president to turn his back on every American’s First Amendment rights by furloughing military contract clergy.”
Pompeo added that President Barack Obama’s strategy during the slowdown, just as during the sequestration, “is to create as much pain as possible.” “However, this action crosses a constitutional line of obstructing every U.S. service member’s ability to practice his or her religion.”
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