Republican New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith tore into President Joe Biden’s administration for barring Catholic priests from ministering to service members at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, warning that the move calls into question “the Federal Government’s respect for, and protection of, the innate religious rights of Catholics in the United States.”
The Holy Name College friary continued to provide services after the contract expired, which prompted an April 4 cease and desist letter from the hospital tha.
Historic Tower at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. / ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 11, 2023 / 18:20 pm (CNA).One of the top military hospitals in the U.S. says it is reviewing a Catholic pastoral care contract it awarded last month to a Virginia-based firm that specializes in providing government clients with industrial machinery, tactical gear, and janitorial supplies, in addition to chaplains and other religious staff.Franciscan friars at Holy Name College in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland, had provided pastoral services at Bethesda s Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for nearly two decades. Their contract expired on March 31, Walter Reed said in a statement Tuesday.Walter Reed "can and will continue to support all faiths for their religious, spiritual, and emotional needs including those of the Catholic faith," its statement said. "We have an ordained Catholic priest on staff and the awarded contract is to pro