House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday called for a further explanation of the circumstances behind the short-lived dismissal of Father Patrick Conroy as the House chaplain.
Conroy submitted his resignation late last month at the request of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a move that sparked outrage among certain lawmakers. Ryan reversed course on Thursday, accepting Conroy’s request to remain in the position.
Pelosi called it “welcome news.”
{mosads}
“Father Conroy’s service as House Chaplain has been a blessing to Members on both sides of the aisle,” she said in a statement.
“However, many distressing questions must still be answered about the motivations behind Father Conroy’s unwarranted and unjust dismissal,” she added.
Ryan has said he asked Conroy to step aside because some members complained that their “pastoral needs” were not being met.
But Conroy wrote in a fiery letter to Ryan earlier Thursday that he did nothing to deserve being pushed out, adding that he wanted to remain in the position of chaplain at least through when his term expires at the end of the year.
“I have never been disciplined, nor reprimanded, nor have I ever heard a complaint about my ministry during my time as House chaplain,” Conroy wrote in his letter rescinding his resignation.
Ryan said he plans to meet with Conroy next week.
In accepting his request to stay, Ryan said that he made his original decision to push out Conroy based on “what I believed to be the best interest of this institution.”