Catholic Priests Risk Arrest for Saying Mass on Military Bases During Shutdown

Some Catholic priests under contract or GS (general schedule) to the military are not allowed to offer Mass or perform weddings, baptisms, and other religious functions on military property during the government shutdown, and if they do, even on a volunteer basis, they risk being arrested, according to the general counsel for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

About 25% of the U.S. military is Catholic, some 275,000 service members, but there are only 234-active-duty priests. To fill the gap, contract or GS priests are brought in. But under the rules of the shutdown, many of those priests cannot perform their religious duties on military bases unless their contracts allow it.

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