Priests who are contracted out to minister to the lay faithful may be arrested if they minister to Catholics in the military during the government shutdown. Even if a priest volunteers he may be arrested. So if they practice their faith priests could be arrested. Why the heck should a government shutdown determine whether a priest can say Mass, pray, do weddings and funerals, and hear confessions? This is clearly a violation of the First Amendment.
This was brought to my attention by Maggie’s Notebook yesterday. This is from Maggie’s Notebook:
Obama still has 129 staffers working directly for him during the shutdown. Biden has 12. Most don’t know how to do the lesser jobs that need doing – like send a news release! And that’s okay, but when it comes to the spiritual needs of our troops, contracted priests have been threatened with arrest if they voluntarily (unpaid) tend to the troop’s spiritual needs. Some Priests are “contracted” due to a “lack” of active-duty Catholic priests, so there is likely a shortage of Protestant pastors as well, although I can’t confirm it. Shutting down the Washington Mall Memorials and Monuments, which can cost nothing to keep open if done properly: post a few signs saying there is no security, you are responsible for your own safety, and ‘hey, please take your trash with you,’ could work. Just as Obama refused to divert funding to the Military during sequester, the goal seems to make those who give the most for their country, the least.
“With the government shutdown, many [government service] and contract priests who minister to Catholics on military bases worldwide are not permitted to work – not even to volunteer,” wrote John Schlageter, the general counsel for the Archdiocese for the Military Services USA, in an op-ed this week. “During the shutdown, it is illegal for them to minister on base and they risk being arrested if they attempt to do so.”
According to its website, the Archdiocese for the Military Services “provides the Catholic Church’s full range of pastoral ministries and spiritual services to those in the United States Armed Forces.” Read more at The Daily Caller
While it is not concrete that the priests will be arrested for practicing their faith the fact that it is a possibility really irks me.
From The Blaze:
The arrest claim is a bold one — but is it true? Recently, Politico did report that furloughed federal workers could be fired for using their BlackBerry phones during the shutdown. One warning noted that there could be penalties for conducting any work outside of the office during this time.
“Due to legal requirements, working in any way during a period of furlough (even as a volunteer) is grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment,”read a recent letter from the House Administration Committee to nonessential employees. “To avoid violating this prohibition, we strongly recommend that you turn your BlackBerrys off for the duration of the furlough.”
Technically, this would translate over to faith leaders as well. As for events that might be scheduled on military bases — baptisms, weddings, etc. — unless a priest who is not contracted is found, Schlageter said that the event would potentially have to be canceled.
From CatholicVote:
Our government is out of control.
First, it was the World War II veterans who had to break down barriers to see the open air, un-attended memorial erected in their honor. A memorial which is on public land but is supported – including the National Park Service fee – with private funds. This week there was more security surrounding this memorial — just to keep elderly veterans out — than there was at our embassy in Benghazi the night it was attacked.
And for what? To inflict as much pain as possible through this government shutdown. It’s called Washington Monument Syndrome, and it’s pure political theater.
But now there’s a story just coming to light that takes things even further. According the Archdiocese for Military Services, GS and contract priests (who are paid by the federal government as independent contractors in places where there aren’t enough active-duty priests to meet the needs of Catholics in military service) are being forbidden from celebrating Mass, even on a volunteer basis.
If they violate this restriction, they face possible arrest. FOR CELEBRATING MASS.
This shutdown impacts Catholics in the military worldwide. In the DC-metro area, it specifically impacts bases like Quantico. On the Facebook page for the Archdiocese, Catholic military members commenting on the story are not happy. Comments include:
“This is outrageous!!! Especially threatening them with arrest to voluntarily do their job.”
“Unbelievable! I was worried about this because our priest is contracted as well. It is bad enough to be furloughed but to not have a Mass to attend, is a real downer,”
“Just one example, a couple is getting married tomorrow at a large Air Force Base that is staffed by a Contract priest. That priest did all of their marriage prep, and has gotten to know the couple very well over the past few months. But with the shutdown, he cannot perform their wedding. Instead of the priest that the couple has come to know and love, an active duty priest has to be sent in to perform the wedding of two people who are strangers to him and he to them.”
” Is anyone up there going to start a protest?! A rosary ?!?!? A nice Catholic riot maybe?! PLEEEAAASSEEE?! SOMEONE?! ANYONE?! Any real Carholics out there?!!!!???!”
This is outrageous. It is a violation of the First Amendment. It is a prohibition of the free exercise of religion to order priests under penalty of arrest that they cannot volunteer their time to offer Mass to the faithful on base. This cannot be allowed to stand.
CatholicVote has a couple updates on this unconscionable situation. Our government is indeed out of control.
Catholibertarian 
BUT, if they show up to the football game instead of Mass, they are a-okay! Priorities …
This is outrageous
Reblogged this on D.E. Cantor and commented:
Special thanks to Catholibertarian for bringing this to the attention of her blog followers. As an Army War on Terror veteran, I know too well how much military chaplains mean to those of us. Whatever one thinks of the political gamesmanship surrounding the government shutdown or any of the politicians involved, but threatening priests with arrest for ministering to Catholics in the Armed Services, including barring them from conducting Mass, is something I think we should all agree is incredibly wrong, regardless of our faiths or political beliefs.
Also, the reason this is an issue is because there are not enough Catholic military chaplains for the number of Catholics who serve in the military, requiring the military to hire civilian priests. I can testify to this reality because during my time in the Army, almost all of the military chaplains were Protestants. In addition, military personnel of other faiths, such as Buddhists, Jews and Muslims, were frequently dependent on civilian clergy, whether they wanted to attend a service, receive counseling, celebrate their holidays or get married.
I, therefore, am inferring that while Protestants may be largely unaffected, many Catholic military personnel are being hurt by this, and those other religions are hurt even more by this combination of government corruption and a complete lack of compassion for the religious needs of those who serve.
Thank you for comment and the reblog D.E. Cantor. Thanks so much for your service. You are correct about Catholic chaplains. Unfortunately there has been a decline in the numbers over the past 30 years or more. Although in cities where Catholicism is followed properly (where there isn’t near as much dissent from teaching) there has been somewhat of an increase in the past 10 years. God Bless.
I’ve had several conversations lately with blogging buddies on the subject of how difficult it has become to engage in satire about the shenanigans of the Obama administration. The more outrageous their behavior, the harder the satirist’s job becomes. I probably shouldn’t complain about it, though — since the community organizer and his henchmen have de facto repealed the First Amendment, we purveyors of satire risk ending up in jail alongside the Catholic priests who dare to celebrate mass in flagrant violation of the sacred shutdown…
I think Beck even had to redo some of one of his books because his fiction became real. Obama and his minions sure show that they don’t give a darn about the First Amendment. Thank you for comment Bluebird.
Why are Catholic priest “GS” employees of the federal government? Hands that hold the Eucharist should not be streached out demanding a government check.