Mr. Obama has never been a particular fan of the First Amendment guarantee of
the free exercise of religion, but he never attacked it in so direct a way as
with his feud with Roman Catholic Church. He's threatening to punish "contract
priests" hired to supplement the chaplain corps. There are only 234 active-duty
commissioned military chaplains to care for 275,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen
and Marines who profess the Catholic faith. It's not nearly enough, so the
military services employ priests on contract to perform Sunday services,
weddings and baptisms on base. No federal funds are used, and these priests
would gladly perform these duties voluntarily during the government shutdown,
but they are prohibited from doing so. "During the shutdown," warns the top
lawyer for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, "it is illegal for them to
minister on base, and they risk being arrested if they attempt to do so."The House last week approved a resolution by a virtually unanimous vote of 400 to 1 urging the Pentagon to allow the chaplains to do their job. "Military personnel enjoy, like all Americans, the First Amendment guarantee of the free exercise of religion," said the Rev. Timothy P. Broglio, archbishop for military services, after the vote. "In the current political climate, however, nothing can be taken for granted." Senate passage of the measure and the president's signature aren't likely.
The Pentagon doesn't classify priests as essential, and the threat to arrest men of the cloth betrays Mr. Obama's intention to win the short-term political battle no matter the cost. "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun," he once told supporters.
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