As Thomas Becket, a 12th-century archbishop of Canterbury, found, displeasing the king can have a fatal effect.
English King Henry II said, “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?” Soon thereafter, Thomas — we now know him as St. Thomas — was stabbed to death in his church.
Well, the Rev. Patrick Conroy wasn’t killed, but he was removed from his post as U.S. House of Representatives chaplain, rather unceremoniously, by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Mr. Ryan’s chief of staff was sent to rid the speaker of the friar.
The reason for the dismissal, it is widely believed, is that Father Conroy expressed a political opinion that displeased the speaker in his prayer the night the U.S. House of Representatives voted to cut taxes.
Father Conroy prayed, “May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.”
The prayer seemed, to some, to be a rebuke of Republicans. Maybe it was in some imagined or suspected subtext, but the text itself seems unobjectionable.
Mr. Ryan allegedly admonished the priest afterward: “Padre, you just got to stay out of politics.”
More recently, Father Conroy gave an interview to the National Journal that some found “too political.” In it he urged religious tolerance and said the public ought not to rush to judgment regarding high-profile cases of sexual misconduct. He also said he detects a “spiritual crisis” in Congress — imagine!
None of that sounds “too political.” It sounds humane and pastoral.
Father Conroy also invited a Muslim cleric to deliver a prayer one day, which may have ruffled some feathers.
And, Father Conroy is a Jesuit, a likely theological as well as political liberal. But he did not wear said liberalism on his sleeve.
The Republicans control the House and have the right to pick one of their own tribe to be House chaplain. But wouldn’t it have been a nice moment, a noble and generous one, if Mr. Ryan had taken this opportunity to be large-minded and large-spirited?
It is also troubling that the decision was made solely by Mr. Ryan, who is leaving the House at the end of this term.
And several members, including Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, the longest-serving female member in the House (indeed in the history of the House), have questioned the lack of transparency and due process in the firing.
As for whether Father Conroy was getting a bit political, the evidence suggests that, if so, it was only a bit. And the House has had many chaplains through the years who were political, but on the other end of the spectrum.
The main things a House or Senate chaplain should be are: a good public speaker, a healing presence, a pastor.
The official reason for his firing is that Father Conroy was doing a poor job of ministering to House members. So far, not one member has stepped forward to complain of the father’s pastoral care, and a number have said that, on the contrary, he was an excellent pastor.
So it goes in Washington. It is a viper’s pit and getting worse. There is always some assassin eager to please the king for a day and rid him of a good man who has become meddlesome.
First Published: May 3, 2018, 4:00 a.m.
