Officials at the Defense Health Agency may be looking for a way out of a Catholic chaplaincy services contract for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that has drawn fire from eleven Congressional Republicans.

Just before Catholics observed the Holy Week worship period between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, DHA sent a “cease and desist” letter to the Holy Name College Friary in Silver Spring, ejecting the friars after a 20-year relationship.

The chaplaincy services contract was awarded to Mack Global LLC, a private contractor that critics charged could not provide Catholic chaplaincy services because priests must work for a bishop and not a private company.

Late Tuesday, Walter Reed officials said in a statement the new contract “is under review to ensure it adequately supports the religious needs of our patients and beneficiaries.”

Rick McNamara, public affairs officer at Walter Reed, told The Washington Times via telephone that if Mack Global cannot fulfill the contract’s terms, it would go back to the Defense Health Agency’s contracting office either to be rebid or awarded to the second-place finalist.

Mr. McNamara said he did not know who that runner-up bidder was.

The March 31 breakup with the Franciscans alarmed Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, and 10 of his Senate and House colleagues, who signed a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. They alleged gender transition surgery for minors was a greater priority for DHA than was providing Roman Catholic servicemembers pastoral care at Walter Reed.

Mr. Rubio’s letter also was signed by Republican Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran of Kansas, and James Lankford of Oklahoma. Also signing the letter were Republican Reps. Doug Lamborn of Colorado; Michael Waltz, Cory Mills, and Carlos Gimenez of Florida; Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin; Jim Banks of Indiana; and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa.

“DHA doctors are advocating for minors to receive experimental gender transition procedures, but no one seems to be advocating for the right of our service members and veterans to receive the most important sacraments during this most sacred time of year,” the letter says.

The Congressional demand letter said, “actions to deny Catholic Pastoral Care from service members and veterans at Walter Reed goes against the morals, way of life, and rights that make up the fabric of our great nation.”

According to the letter, quoting a statement from the Catholic Church’s Archdiocese for the Military Services, the sole Catholic priest on active duty at Walter Reed is insufficient to provide the pastoral care required by patients at the medical center.

The new contract “was awarded to a for-profit secular defense contracting firm that … has no way of providing Catholic priests” to the facility.

Contacted by a reporter on Monday, Robin Mack, Mack Global’s CEO, said, “we’re still in the process of getting all that worked out” when asked how they will supply Catholic priests for the facility.

The Rubio-led letter asks Mr. Austin to detail the “factors” that led to the decision to drop the Franciscans from the contract “after two decades of providing consistent pastoral care.”

The lawmakers also want to know the “considerations” the department gave in awarding the contract to a secular firm “given that this entity cannot provide Catholic pastoral care,” and whether priests celebrated the various Holy Week observances at Walter Reed.

They also want to know how many Catholic priests are “currently available” at the facility, and “how much longer the current active duty priest” will be there, as well as details of the pastoral care provided during Holy Week.

A spokesperson for Mr. Austin said via email that answers would be provided to Mr. Rubio and the other signers of the letter and not the media.

According to Catholic teaching, most of the sacraments, including Communion and Confession, can only be performed by a validly ordained priest.

In its Tuesday evening statement on the matter, the medical center insisted it “is a welcoming and healing environment that honors and supports a full range of religious, spiritual and cultural needs.”

The center said it can provide Catholic religious services without a contract, and “can leverage Catholic Priests assigned to other Defense [Department] organizations within the region.”

They said three additional priests in the area “are available to provide services” to Catholics at Walter Reed.

The facility has 244 inpatient beds and handled 7,400 patient admissions in 2022, Mr. McNamara said. There are also 7,100 staff at Walter Reed both for its hospital and the numerous clinics at the facility, all of whom can also access chaplaincy services if desired.

The Holy Name Friars said the abrupt termination of their relationship with DHA was “certainly disappointing … after building trust and so many wonderful relationships and friendships,” but they “respect the process” of awarding contracts.

“It has been an incredible privilege – and, really, a very powerful ministerial experience – for the Franciscan Friars to be invited into the lives of these true American heroes who have sacrificed so much for our country,” they said.

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, who leads the U.S. Military Services archdiocese, was less conciliatory in a statement released last weekend.

“This is a classic case where the adage ‘if it is not broken, do not fix it’ applies. I fear that giving a contract to the lowest bidder overlooked the fact that the bidder cannot provide the necessary service. I earnestly hope that this disdain for the sick will be remedied at once and their First Amendment rights will be respected,” he said.

• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.