The Catholic Archdiocese for Military Services accuses Walter Reed National Military Medical Center of denying Catholic service members and veterans their rights to practice their religion.
Fox News reports that this accusation comes after Walter Reed canceled a contract with pastoral care and issued a Cease and Desist Order for priests wanting to go to the facility to assist with pastoral care.
The Catholic Archdiocese said that Walter Reed issued a Cease and Desist Order against the Holy Name College Friary. This Franciscan community of priests and brothers has served Walter Reed veterans for the last 20 years.
Fox News reports that Walter Reed allowed their contract with the Franciscan community to expire and will instead bring in a secular group that the Archdiocese says will be unable to provide the pastoral care that Catholic servicemembers are looking for.
The Archdiocese says this move violates the service members First Amendment rights to practice religion. They also requested that the services at least be continued through Easter, but Walter Reed ignored that request.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio said the following in a statement:
It is incomprehensible that essential pastoral care [is] taken away from the sick and the aged when it was so readily available.
and
This is a classic case where the adage If it [is] not broken, do not fix it applies. I fear that giving a contract to the lowest bidder overlooked [the fact] that the bidder cannot provide the necessary service.
He concluded by saying:
I earnestly hope that this disdain for the sick will [be] remedied at once and their First Amendment rights will [be] respected.
The Archdiocese said that without Catholic priests on duty at Walter Reed, service members could not get all of the pastoral care they need if they are Catholic and are interested in receiving these services. A Catholic priest can only carry out certain practices of the Catholic faith, and without them on duty, it is simply impossible for service members to get all of the faith care they require at this time.
Walter Reed released a statement claiming it is a welcoming and healing environment that honors and supports a full range of religious, spiritual, and cultural needs.
The statement continued: Tomorrow, Catholic Easter Services will [be] provided to those who wish to attend. Services will include a celebration of Mass and the administration of Confession by an ordained Catholic Priest, and For many years, a [Catholic ordained] priest has been on staff at WRNMMC providing religious sacraments to service members, veterans, and their loved ones. A pastoral care contract has also been in place to supplement those services provided.
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