Ryan decides to let chaplain keep his job

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., reversed course Thursday and agreed to keep the Rev. Patrick Conroy on as House chaplain after an extraordinary showdown that included the priest alleging anti-Catholic bias by Mr. Ryan’s chief of staff.

Father Conroy, who was forced to step down by Mr. Ryan last month, sent the speaker a letter rescinding his resignation and vowing to remain until the end of the year — essentially daring the speaker to fire him.

Within hours Mr. Ryan had backed down, ending the possibility of what the speaker feared would be a “protracted fight” over what is supposed to be a unifying and spiritual position in the partisan chamber.

Mr. Ryan defended his original decision and questioned whether Father Conroy was delivering sufficient “pastoral services” to the entire House. “I intend to sit down with Father Conroy early next week so that we can move forward for the good of the whole House,” Mr. Ryan said.

The decision capped a highly unusual dispute between the Catholic speaker, who announced last month that he would retire, and a Jesuit priest who has spent seven years serving as the spiritual adviser to 435 lawmakers and thousands of congressional staffers.

Just a week ago, Father Conroy’s ouster threatened to spark a political and theological firestorm.

Most lawmakers thought Father Conroy’s resignation, announced in midApril, was voluntary, but Mr. Ryan faced a bipartisan backlash, particularly among the more than 140 Catholics in the House, when word spread that he had forced the priest into retirement.