Episcopal Press and News
Bishops and Spouses Invade Capitol Hill with Their Concerns, Find a Mixed Reception
Episcopal News Service. September 26, 1990 [90245]
Ruth Nicastro
WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 20 -- In what one participant described as a "purple invasion," about 150 bishops and spouses spent a full day on Capitol Hill for issue briefings and dialogue with legislators.
The briefing on the Middle East, for example, was conducted by Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee who was instrumental in a move to encourage Israel to open West Bank schools closed for more than two years.
Chafee told the group -- including Bishop and Mrs. Samir Kafity, president-bishop of the church in Jerusalem -- that denying Palestinian children their education could have the effect of "turning an entire generation of potential peacemakers into a generation of potential war-makers."
Kafity expressed his appreciation of the Senate action that led to a reopening of the schools last January and underscored his concerns about the continuing oppression of Palestinians and the role of the United States in subsidizing the resettlement of Soviet Jews in Israel.
Bishop Mellick Belshaw of New Jersey found Congressman James Leach of Iowa "extremely engaging and helpful" in delineating Cold War issues, the subject selected by another group. "He was honest about his own position and then very helpful in getting into the dynamics of what it means to be a member of Congress dealing with a critical issue," Belshaw said.
Congressman James McDermott, a physician from Seattle, told those attending a briefing on health care issues that he was confident the United States would have a national health care system by 1995. McDermott said the issue was urgent because 37 million Americans, 30 million of them children, are now totally without any kind of protection.
Three Ohio bishops and their wives spent more than an hour with Senator John Glenn discussing a wide range of topics, from the economy and the budget to the crisis in the Persian Gulf. Glenn had just returned from a fact-finding mission to the Kuwait borders and shared with his guests the strategic concerns facing the United States and his own hopes that a diplomatic solution is still possible.
Five Virginia bishops met with their senators, Charles Robb and John Warner. Bishop Heath Light of Southwestern Virginia was particularly pleased with the discussion on Central America. Robb was scheduled to leave for El Salvador the day he met with the bishops.
Among the other briefings were one on child care led by Congressman Dale Kildee of Michigan and national volunteer service led by Congressman David McCurdy of Oklahoma. A deadline for budget negotiations prevented a few members of Congress from participating.
The day was designed by the staff of the church's Washington office. The Rev. Robert Brooks and Betty Coates lined up speakers, many of them Episcopalians, for the briefings. Several of them paid tribute to the work of the Washington office. When asked what led to his passionate concern for Palestinian children, Senator Chafee pointed to Coates and said, "It was that lady over there."
Not everything went smoothly, however. An early morning reception sponsored by the White House produced some pointed criticism for what some participants, especially the spouses, perceived to be a condescending tone and a misreading of the audience. The presiding bishop acknowledged the anger by asking, at the final session of the House of Bishops, if he should write to President Bush to express disappointment and to tell him he missed "a marvelous opportunity to engage us in dialogue." The House erupted in applause.