Pro-gay chaplain rescinds resignation after being booted by Paul Ryan
Father Patrick Conroy , a pro-gay Jesuit priest serving as chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives , has rescinded his resignation a week after outgoing Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI , requested it. Last week, Conroy stepped down after Ryan, a Catholic, allegedly told him he would be dismissed unless he left voluntarily. However, in a letter to Ryan dated May 3, Conroy retracted that resignation “upon advice of counsel.” The letter accuses Ryan of not giving him a reason for his firing, but claims Ryan chief of staff Jonathon Burks “mentioned dismissively something like, 'maybe it's time that we had a Chaplain that wasn't a Catholic,’” as well as mentioning a House prayer and interview some criticized as overly political. Conroy has previously said Ryan told him, “you just got to stay out of politics." House Republicans say that Ryan assured them the prayer wasn’t a factor, but rather that some had approached him with concern “that their past