Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On December 19, 1999, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an article on the controversy over the selection of a new chaplain for the House of Representatives to replace James David Ford, a Lutheran minister who is retiring in January of 2000. The controversy began when a bipartisan committee of 18 members of Congress selected a Catholic priest, Father Timothy J. O'Brien of Marquette University, as their top choice. Recommendations were then forwarded to the top three leaders of the House. Democratic leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri voted for O'Brien, but House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Republican leader Dick Armey of Texas decided to select the committee's third choice, Rev. Charles Wright, a Presbyterian minister. Hastert and Armey claim that they were "more comfortable" with Wright and felt he would be better able to provide spiritual guidance to lawmakers, but others in the House and those on the selection committee have questioned whether O'Brien was rejected because he is Catholic.

This issue also concerns the separation of Church and State. J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee, lobbies for church-state separation on behalf of 12 Baptist bodies. Walker agrees with the position of the chaplaincy in militaries, hospitals, and prisons, but not in Congress: "People who live and serve in those institutions don't always have mobility and can't always obtain spiritual counseling on their own...But members of Congress probably have a dozen churches within walking distance of the Capitol Dome, and most have their own ministers here and probably one back home as well." Despite the general problem of whether to have chaplains in Congress or not, the claim of anti-Catholic bias hurts Congress. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, stated: "Whether this allegation is true or not, the charge of religious bigotry damages the reputation of the House and undermines the public's confidence in the house leadership's commitment to religious non-discrimination."