SW News: Lawmakers are demanding explanations from the Biden administration after a military hospital terminated a contract with the Franciscan friars who had been providing Catholic pastoral care there for almost two decades.

During Holy Week, on April 4, the Holy Name College Friary in Silver Spring, Maryland, was given a cease-and-desist order requiring them to stop all services they offer at the neighboring Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre. The medical Centre said it would engage in a contract with the secular Mack Global, LLC rather than the Franciscan friars after the contract's expiration on March 31. The friars had been serving the center for almost two decades.

Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, a Catholic, accused the administration of showing a lack of consideration for service members' religious needs and rights in a letter to Secretary of State Lloyd Austin. He also expressed "grave concerns" about the administration's ability to give Catholics the pastoral care they need.

The letter, sent on April 14, questioned why the agency chose a for-profit contractor and why they delivered a cease-and-desist letter during Holy Week in the letter. He further inquired about the friars' "timely notification" and whether they take into account a bidder's "relationship with established religious institutions."

According to Smith, the Department of Defense had previously neglected to fully take into account the religious needs and rights of service members. The letter said this decision raises concerns about the federal government's respect for and protection of the innate religious rights of Catholics in the United States.

“Disturbingly, the lack of consideration for service members' religious needs and rights of conscience is not a one-time event. A large number of denials for religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine and the questionable decision-making regarding the provision of pastoral care services, raise serious concerns regarding the Department of Defense’s commitment to respecting the rights of conscience for those who volunteer to serve our nation. Coupled with the recent revelation of the FBI targeting Catholics for increased surveillance in Richmond, Virginia, and the failure of the DOJ to prosecute repeated anti-Catholic vandalism at churches, this decision raises serious concerns regarding the Executive Branch’s position regarding 1st Amendment protections and invites questions regarding the Federal Government’s respect for, and protection of, the innate religious rights of Catholics in the United States,” the letter said.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, criticized the decision. “It is incomprehensible that essential pastoral care is taken away from the sick and the aged when it is so readily available… I fear that giving a contract to the lowest bidder overlooked the fact that the bidder cannot provide the necessary service,” he said.