Father Patrick Conroy told Speaker Paul Ryan Thursday that he was rescinding his resignation as House chaplain, a move that was immediately accepted by Ryan.
In a remarkable letter, Conroy said it was never explained to him why Ryan wanted him out in the first place, and said Ryan’s chief of staff suggested Father Conroy he needed to resign because he is Catholic.
“[Y]our Chief of Staff, Jonathan Burks, came to me and informed me that you were asking for my letter of resignation,” he wrote. “I inquired as to whether or not it was ‘for cause,’ and Mr. Burks mentioned dismissively something like ‘maybe it’s time that we had a Chaplain that wasn’t a Catholic.'”
Burks pushed back against Conroy’s version of events.
“I strongly disagree with Father Conroy’s recollection of our conversation. I am disappointed by the misunderstanding, but wish him the best as he continues to serve the House,” he said in a statement.
Still, Conroy said he thought then he had “little choice but to resign,” but now takes that back, rejecting Ryan’s public argument that he wasn’t providing adequate pastoral services to lawmakers.
“In fact, no such criticism has ever been leveled against me during my tenure as House Chaplain,” he wrote. “At the very least, if it were, I could have attempted to correct such ‘faults.’ In retracting my resignation I wish to do just that.”
“Had I known of any failure in providing my ministry to the House, I would have attempted to make the appropriate adjustments, but in no case would I have agreed to submit a letter of resignation without being given that opportunity,” Conroy added.
He also said Ryan was free to fire him, if he had the authority.
“You may with to outright ‘fire’ me, if you have the authority to do so, but should you wish to terminate my services, it will be without my offer of resignation, as you requested,” he wrote.
However, Ryan backed down. In a statement later in the day, the speaker said Conroy will remain in his position.
“My original decision was made in what I believed to be the best interest of this institution,” Ryan said. “To be clear, that decision was based on my duty to ensure that the House has the kind of pastoral services that it deserves. It is my job as speaker to do what is best for this body, and I know that this body is not well served by a protracted fight over such an important post.”
Ryan also said he intends to sit down and chat with Conroy next week “so that we can move forward for the good of the whole House.”
Father Conroy’s dismissal has created an uproar among Democrats and some Republicans, although few in the GOP have been vocal about it.
Ryan said a bipartisan panel of lawmakers will conduct a search for a new House Chaplain.
