After
the Obama administration, for the second Sunday in a row, continued to
prohibit approximately 50 Catholic priests from saying Mass and
administering other sacraments at U.S. military facilities around the
world, Father Ray Leonard, who serves as the Catholic chaplain at Naval
Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia, filed suit Monday against the
Department of Defense, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the Department of
the Navy, and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.
DOD is prohibiting Father Leonard and the other
Catholic priests from administering the sacraments and providing other
services to their congregations even though two weeks ago Congress
passed, and President Barack Obama signed, a law that instructed DOD to
maintain on the job and keep paying contract employees who were
supporting the troops.
DOD took this action because Hagel determined--after consulting with
Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department--that civilian
Catholic priests, working under contract as chaplains, did not, among
other things, “contribute to the morale” and “well-being” of service
personnel."The Department of Defense consulted closely with the Department of Justice, which expressed its view that the law does not permit a blanket recall of all civilians," Hagel said in an Oct. 5 memorandum. "Under our current reading of the law, the standard of 'support to members of the Armed Forces' requires a focus on those employees whose responsibilities contribute to the morale, well-being, capabilities, and readiness of covered military members during the lapse of appropriations."
Among the specific examples Hagel provided of civilian contractors whom he believes meet this standard are those working in secular "Family Support Programs and Activities," "Behavorial Health and Suicide Prevention Programs" and "Health Care Activities and Providers"--but not priests.
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