Mark Mueller of the Star-Ledger has an interesting piece on the Rev Ray Leonard — the contract Catholic priest and military chaplain who sued for access to his congregation during the government “shutdown.” It turns out Chaplain Leonard served for 10 years as a priest in China:

During a decade spent teaching and helping the needy in some of China’s most impoverished and oppressed regions, the New Jersey priest learned what it was like to live in a land without religious freedom.

It kindled a greater appreciation for his liberties at home.

That may have played a role in how he reacted to the US government forbidding him from serving his parish: 

Which is why Leonard, 51, bristled at the U.S. government when it told him he couldn’t hold services at a Georgia naval base during last month’s government shutdown.

Chaplain Leonard filed a lawsuit with the help of the Thomas More Law Center. In response to the suit, the Department of Justice reversed the DoD’s prior decision that chaplains were “non-essential.” Chaplain Leonard intends to continue the lawsuit to prevent it from happening again.

The article details Chaplain Leonard’s fascinating experience in China.

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