Rep. McGovern pans VA effort to muzzle chaplains over Alex Pretti’s death
NORTHAMPTON – U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern said restricting Veterans Administration chaplains from offering public prayers in memory of Alex Pretti is both "incredibly insensitive" and probably illegal.
McGovern, D-Worcester, wrote Veterans Administration Secretary Douglas A. Collins Feb. 6, citing an internal email from VA staff in Massachusetts and complaints brought forth anonymously to The Republican by a Veterans Administration chaplain.
"Mr. Secretary, I have spoken with many VA employees in my district over the last few weeks," McGovern wrote. "They are confused, angry, and devastated — not only by the shooting, but also by your overtly partisan response and failure to meaningfully acknowledge the life and legacy of one of your own."
"Your words and actions matter. Use your power to honor Mr. Pretti — not silence those who seek to remember him," McGovern wrote.
U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, called the Veterans Administration action related to chaplains speaking about the Alex Pretti killing "incredibly insensitive." (The Republican / file photo)(Will Katcher/MassLive)
Collins served as a chaplain in the Air Force. McGovern asked him if he'd ever had his role providing spiritual guidance restricted.
Pretti, 37, worked as an intensive care unit nurse at a VA in Minnesota. He was shot and killed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis Jan. 24.
McGovern's district includes the Edward P. Boland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Leeds section of Northampton. McGovern attended a vigil outside the Leeds hospital, organized outside the VA chain of command.
At the end of January, a chaplain told The Republican that a supervisor had informed him that the circumstances of Pretti's death were political. He said he was informed of the Hatch Act, a federal law that bans federal employees from partisan activity at work.
"Does VA believe that mention of VA staff during prayer, including Mr. Pretti, is it a partisan activity?" McGovern asked in his letter to Collins.
More recently, the chaplain has communicated that there has been no policy change, though supervisors are using "a lighter hand" in the matter.
The VA, through a spokesperson, said previously that: "All VA employees, including chaplains, are welcome to memorialize Alex Pretti in their own way as long as they are respectful, and it does not interfere with their work duties."
Participants hold signs outside the Northampton VA medical center in Northampton at a vigil honoring ICU nurse Alex Pretti. (Steven E. Nanton photo)Steven E. Nanton
The Washington Post reported , in the immediate aftermath of Pretti's killing, on frustration among VA employees nationally, saying they have not received any acknowledgment from the department of Pretti's killing.
McGovern said restricting worship is not going to ease that frustration.
"Censoring the prayer of VA chaplains and discouraging public acknowledgment of a fallen colleague is not only incredibly insensitive, but also totally inconsistent with the values of compassion and support that VA pledges to uphold," McGovern wrote.
It is also likely unlawful, he added. The First Amendment protects religious expression.
"By censoring the content of public prayer, VA leadership likely infringed on the religious liberty of VA chaplains," he wrote.
Such a stance, the legislator wrote, runs counter to the religious liberty goals espoused by the Trump administration itself.
"Has the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias, established by President Trump, reviewed the new policy?" McGovern asked. "Has the Religious Liberty Commission, established by President Trump, reviewed the new policy?"
McGovern asked in his letter for a response from Collins by Friday.
Stories by Jim Kinney
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
