c. 2000 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON _ House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., buoyed by a talk with evangelist Billy Graham, continues to support the Rev. Charles Wright as the candidate for House chaplain despite continuing criticism in Catholic circles that he is favored over Catholic priest Timothy O’Brien.
Hastert spoke with Graham earlier this week and the speaker’s spokesman said “it was a positive conversation that helped strengthen the speaker’s resolve to have Dr. Wright appointed chaplain.”But the spokesman stressed that Hastert did not feel any pressure from Graham on the issue.
Graham spokesman Larry Ross acknowledged the two men discussed the chaplain issue but said the evangelist chose not to immerse himself in the debate.
“Mr. Graham said that he did not and could not take sides on this issue,” Ross said Thursday (Feb. 17).
Prominent Catholics, including O’Brien’s auxiliary bishop, have voiced concern that the support of Wright over O’Brien by House leaders may reflect anti-Catholic bias.
In a Feb. 10 letter to Hastert, Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba of Milwaukee, described the leadership’s recommendation of Wright rather than O’Brien as “particularly painful” for millions of Catholic Americans.
“I write to ask that the leadership reconsider their conclusion in order to uphold the standard of fairness and equity for all parties concerned,” wrote Sklba.
O’Brien is a priest of the Milwaukee archdiocese but serves as director of the Marquette University Les Aspin Center for Government in Washington. Wright, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister, is a retired pastor working in a specialized international ministry of the National Capital Presbytery.
In his letter, the auxiliary bishop congratulated Hastert for appointing a bipartisan search committee, but questioned the leadership’s decision-making process.
“The perception that denominational bias factored into your recommendation leaves many questioning whether the final stage of the process met the highest standards required and expected for such a position,” Sklba wrote. “The rationale offered to explain your final recommendation for House Chaplain is not persuasive.”
John Feehery, Hastert’s spokesman, said the speaker does not plan to reconsider his decision but will respond to the bishop.
“I think that he misunderstands the process here,” said Feehery, who is Catholic. “This was the fairest, most open process of selecting a chaplain in the history of the House. … It’s unfortunate that he thinks that this reflects some anti-Catholic bias because I don’t think that’s true.”
Hastert thought all three chaplain finalists were “excellent,” Feehery said but Wright was chosen based on his pastoral skills.
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which released a copy of Sklba’s letter, issued a statement agreeing with Sklba.
“Bishop Sklba is right _ a persuasive case to reject Father O’Brien has not been made,” said Catholic League President William Donohue.
The co-chairmen of the selection committee released a report in mid-January saying they did not rank the finalists for the position, but media reports have said the leaders still knew O’Brien was their top choice.
The report shows a “final tally” of six semi-finalists, with O’Brien receiving the most votes _ 14 _ and Wright getting the third-highest number of votes _ 9.5.
A House vote on the leadership’s choice for chaplain has been delayed due to the controversy. Feehery said no vote has been scheduled in the House and the House is in recess until late February.
The eventual successor to retiring House Chaplain James D. Ford, a Lutheran, will receive an annual salary of $138,000.
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