Not everyone is sold on Paul Ryan’s rationale for firing House chaplain, including some Republicans

Ryan told Republican lawmakers in a private meeting Friday that he asked for Father Conroy’s resignation because the Jesuit priest, appointed in 2011 by Speaker John Boehner, was “unable to connect” with some members.

The explanation fell flat with a group of lawmakers who are seeking to find out exactly how Ryan came to make the decision and perhaps try to stop it.

On Thursday, Father Conroy told some lawmakers he believes he was dismissed over a November prayer that referenced spreading the benefits of tax reform equitably.

Ryan has flatly denied that was the reason.

“There was not a specific prayer that led to this,” a GOP aide said. “At the member conference meeting this morning, the speaker brought up the topic and mentioned that there were member concerns about his pastoral care.”

Some lawmakers, many of them Democrats, but some Republicans too, want a fuller explanation.

“To me, the whole reason is bogus to begin with,” Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., told the Washington Examiner on Friday. “He’s saying just a few members have shared concerns about the chaplain. We are a House of 435 members. And if we’ve got a problem with the chaplain, survey the membership. Tell me that 435 members are unhappy. It’s bogus.”

One-third of House lawmakers, including Ryan, are Catholic, while more than half are Protestant, according to Pew Research.

Jones, who converted to the Catholic faith four decades ago, has collected more than 100 signatures so far on a letter to Ryan demanding a detailed explanation for how the speaker decided to fire Father Conroy.

The letter’s co-author and fellow Catholic Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, is examining whether Ryan has the authority to dismiss Father Conroy without a House vote.

“The unwarranted, unjust, forced resignation of a sworn officer of this United States House, the House Chaplain Patrick Conroy, is a complte violation of justice,” Kaptur said Friday. “It is also a complete violation of the rules of this House and the 229 year precedents of this House.”

Father Conroy’s initial appointment was endorsed by a House vote back in 2011 and in opening day votes of each new Congress. House rules do not specify whether the speaker can unilaterally fire the chaplain.

Democrats Friday forced a vote on whether to establish a special committee to investigate Father Conroy’s dismissal.

The sponsor of the resolution, Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., said Father Conroy was fired for offering a prayer that asked for “the poor and marginalized” to benefit from the tax reform bill. His firing, Crowley said “shows Repubicans’ true refusal to embody faith and charity in their legislative work.”

The resolution was tabled mostly along party lines.

“I don’t think this is going to go away in a few days,” Jones said. “The justification for asking Father Conroy is not very strong. It’s weak.”

Father Conroy told the New York Times he never asked Ryan for an explanation and that Ryan’s chief of staff conveyed the request and gave Conroy an exit date of May 24.

Father Conroy said he believes he was let go over the November opening prayer that referenced tax reform, which was the central focus of Congress at the time.

Father Conroy delivered this opening prayer on Nov. 6:

Father Conroy told the Times Ryan was unhappy with the tax reference.

“Padre, you just got to stay out of politics,” Father Conroy recalled Ryan telling him.

Ryan’s office has declined to give too many specifics about the decision, they say in order to protect Father Conroy and provide him with a dignified exit.

In the coming weeks, a bipartisan committee of lawmakers will begin the search for a new chaplain.

Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., said Friday he has spoken to fellow lawmakers about a new chaplain and they are seeking a candidate who has, among other qualifications, “life experiences that allow them to relate to members,” including having families and spending frequent time away from home.

Catholic priests are not permitted to marry or have families.

Walker said, however, the search would not exclude any particular denomination.

At least one Catholic organization supports Ryan’s decision to oust Father Conroy.

The Catholic Association’s senior policy adviser, Maureen Ferguson, said the criticism of Ryan’s decision is “baseless and absurd,” and that Ryan “attempted to give Father Conroy a gracious and dignified exit,” after members complained about “the pastoral care offered by the chaplain.”