Shouting Match Erupts On House Floor Over Chaplain Rev. Patrick Conroy

UNITED STATES - APRIL 11: Rev. Patrick Conroy, Chaplain of the House, attends the 2013 National Days of Remembrance ceremony in the Capitol rotunda to honor the victims of the Holocaust. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES - APRIL 11: Rev. Patrick Conroy, Chaplain of the House, attends the 2013 National Days of Remembrance ceremony in the Capitol rotunda to honor the victims of the Holocaust. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
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A shouting match erupted on the House floor between Reps. Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) on Tuesday over House Chaplain Rev. Patrick Conroy, who was abruptly fired in April and quickly reinstated by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) earlier this month, according to a Tuesday Politico report.

Crowley, a Catholic, proposed launching a special investigation into the mysterious firing of the Jesuit chaplain, who claimed he had never received a complaint about his work before he was pushed to resign by Ryan’s staff.

MacArthur, an Episcopalian, reportedly walked over to the Democratic side of the chamber and accused Crowley of politicizing a non-political issue, saying that he, a Republican, prays with Conroy. Crowley reportedly gestured angrily at the speaker’s seat, saying that Ryan made it a political issue when he fired Conroy in the first place.

According to Politico, the interaction became so heated that Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) came over to intervene, as bystanders were concerned that the argument would become physical.

Newly reinstated Conroy said his first opening prayer on Monday, calling for a spirit of cooperation and problem-solving to infuse the chamber’s work.

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Notable Replies

  1. At least men don’t carry canes anymore.

  2. I’ve got no problem with a fightin’ Dem yelling at those unctuous hypocritical GOP assholes. And anything that further trashes Paul Ryan’s “legacy” is OK by me.

  3. Don’t they know it’s impolite to fight and yell in a whorehouse?

  4. Lots of Catholics don’t like the Jesuits including Pope Francis, at all. So it’s interesting to see an RC layman go to bat for one publicly.

    Love the Anglican who is so tolerant he prays with Jebbies (good for you!) and uses that to somehow bless his silence on Fr. Conroy’s dismissal. Huh?

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