HOW DOES CONGRESS’ CHAPLAIN NOT VIOLATE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?

From Newsweek

Last week, news reports emerged that House Speaker Paul Ryan had forced Father Patrick Conroy, a Jesuit priest and longtime House chaplain, to resign over what many, including Conroy, have claimed is about the content of his prayer. Speaker Ryan has disputed this account, saying that some members simply wanted a different chaplain to better serve their “pastoral needs.”

We are scholars of religion and American politics who, with Brandeis Ph.D. candidate Margaret Clendenen Minkin, have written about the history and work of congressional chaplains. The present controversy offers a unique opportunity to ask broader questions about why the U.S. Congress employs chaplains and what they do.

History of congressional chaplains

The American tradition of legislative prayer dates to 1774, when Jacob Duché, the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, was recruited to offer prayers before the First Continental Congress.

After the Constitution was ratified, the U.S. Senate selected an Episcopal bishop from New York, Samuel Proovost, as its chaplain in April 1789.

More here-

http://www.newsweek.com/house-congress-chaplain-separation-church-and-state-violate-907662

In budget matters, let's remember 'the least of these'

An Ecumenical Statement from Houston- (Including Bishop Doyle)

For decades, presidents and congressional leaders have struggled to break the political gridlock that perpetuates federal deficit spending. Success has been elusive - especially when trying to strike the right balance between living within our means and protecting our poorest and most vulnerable.

The federal government's latest failure to address the deficit problem came at the hands of the recently disbanded Congressional Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, more commonly referred to as the supercommittee. This bipartisan group had been tasked with identifying $1.5 trillion in deficit-reduction measures over the next 10 years or face automatic across-the-board cuts in 2013. Despite the dramatic risks involved, neither side ultimately demonstrated collective responsibility to control government expenditures while passing a sustainable spending plan for future generations.

More here-

http://www.chron.com/default/article/In-budget-matters-let-s-remember-the-least-of-2340926.php