Hastert might make chaplain appointment
The Layman Online, March 1, 2000
Roll Call, the daily newsletter of Capitol Hill, is reporting that Republicans are floating a compromise proposal that would allow the Rev. Charles Parker Wright, a Presbyterian, to serve as U.S. House of Representatives chaplain for one year.
Also, House Speaker Dennis Hastert is considering whether he should appoint a chaplain on his own, a tactic that has been used in the past for other House officers during the middle of a Congressional session, Roll Call said in its Feb. 29 Internet version of its newsletter. Hastert has previously defended his preference for Wright, but he has not scheduled a House comfirmation vote because of controversy over the selection.
Wright was not the first choice of a search committee that made recommendations to the House leadership. Their vote went to the Rev. Timothy J. O’Brien, a Catholic priest and longtime professor of political science at Marquette University.
After House leaders insisted on Wright, the selection process became a religious battle, with Democrats accusing Republicans of an anti-Catholic bias. Meanwhile, Wright’s appointment has been on hold.
The issue flared anew in the wake of Republican presidential campaign and the sideline issues of George Bush’s speech at Bob Jones University, John McCain’s questioning Bush’s religious tolerance and Pat Roberson’s attacks on McCain. Democrats have accused Republicans of being anti-Catholic.
Wright, of McLean, Va., is a former pastor of North Avenue Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Ga. For the past several years, he has been the director of the National Prayer Breakfast in the Capitol.
Senate Chaplain Lloyd J. Ogilvie, former pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church in California, is also a Presbyterian.
There is also talk of allowing the current chaplain, the Rev. James Ford, a Lutheran, to stay until the end of this session. Ford has already served as chaplain for 21 years and wanted to retire at the end of 1999.