Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said Wednesday its decision to hire a secular firm to replace the Franciscan priests who oversee pastoral care in the Bethesda, Maryland, facility is under review.
The announcement came after days of pushback from congressional Republicans and Catholic leaders, including Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and archbishop for the Military Services.
The Defense Health Agency, the DOD unit that oversees Walter Reed, said it had awarded the chaplaincy services contract instead to Mack Global, a private firm. Contacted by a reporter after news of the award broke, Robin Mack, Mack Global’s CEO, said, “We’re still in the process of getting all that worked out” when asked how they will supply Catholic priests for the facility.
“DHA doctors are advocating for minors to receive experimental gender transition procedures, but no one seems to be advocating for the right of our service members and veterans to receive the most important sacraments during this most sacred time of year,” the letter said. The MCA, a nonprofit that supports chaplains in the military, said the DHA “contracting officer — not located at Walter Reed — was provided the specific technical information needed to select an appropriate provider of services by the senior chaplain at Walter Reed. Sadly, the contracting officer chose to disregard the requirements.”
Also on Thursday, another private group, the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty and Michael Berry, its attorney at First Liberty Institute, wrote to Secretary Austin to protest the contract award as “both legally and morally wrong.”
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