I believed this was what was meant by the separation of church and state? Or was it merely meant to forbid Christians from holding clubs and events and praying in its public schools?“Due to legal requirements, working in any way during a period of furlough (even as a volunteer) is grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment,” read a recent letter from the House Administration Committee to nonessential employees. “To avoid violating this prohibition, we strongly recommend that you turn your BlackBerrys off for the duration of the furlough.”

Technically, this would translate over to faith leaders as well. As for events that might be scheduled on military bases — baptisms, weddings, etc. — unless a priest who is not contracted is found, Schlageter said that the event would potentially have to be canceled.

But if these priests conducted religious events anyway, would they really risk arrest? That remains to be seen, but the impact of the shutdown is already being felt among Catholic clergy.

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In a statement to CatholicVote.org, Schlageter provided additional details about some of the specific ramifications the shutdown is having on people of faith:

There will be Mass at Quantico because of the terms of service of the contract for the priest at Quantico. Nonetheless, 3 Masses have been cancelled at local Fort Belvoir. … In one situation a couple that is to be married at an Air Force Base this Saturday and did all of their preparation with a GS priest will now be married by an active duty priest who is being taken in from somewhere else. This means that the priest that the couple got to know over the past few months will not be able to witness their marriage. One priest in Virginia Beach will be celebrating Mass in a local park off base.

We are also learning that some chapel musicians will not be able to play at Sunday Mass during the furlough.

If you’re wondering why government workers (contracted priests, included) aren’t allowed to volunteer during the shutdown, Slate has an explanation. The reasoning is predicated upon the Anti-Deficiency Act of 1884. Here’s more:

The basic logic of the Anti-Deficiency Act is to say that executive branch officials are not allowed to undertake actions that create financial obligations for the federal government that they have not received congressional funding for. The Navy, in other words, can’t order up a bunch of ships and then when the bill comes due tell Congress that it needs to appropriate the money to pay for the ships lest the entire creditworthiness of the American military collapse.

Prevailing doctrine didn’t always hold that the Anti-Deficiency Act applies in this way. Back in the 1970s there were a whole series of appropriations lapses driven by House/Senate disagreement about abortion. What happened then was basically what happens now with “essential” workers—people keep doing their jobs, it’s just that they don’t get paid. Then when Congress worked out its disagreement, it would also pony up the money for back pay. In a sense this made appropriations lapses “too easy,” to the Justice Department changes the interpretation and now federal workers can’t work. Unless, that is, they’re essential in which case they must work.

TheBlaze reached out to Lt. Col. Laurel P. Tingley at the Air Force Press Desk to ask how regulations will impact contracted priests and to see if there’s any merit to the arrest claim.

“Any civilian employee who volunteers their time to the government while furloughed is violating the Anti-Deficiency Act, as is any supervisor who allows an employee to do so,” she said in an e-mail. “The ADA provides for disciplinary action for individuals who are found in violation.”

We followed up to check if arrest is one of the potential ramifications and we’re waiting for clarification.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/04/do-catholic-priests-in-the-military-risk-being-arrested-if-they-minister-and-hold-mass-during-the-govt-shutdown/