12/9/2011 – OneNewsNow.com – ETHESDA, MD – The Walter Reed military hospital says it has rescinded a ban on Bibles or other religious materials being used or given away during visits to wounded troops.
The ban was issued in September but only came to light last week. It said, “No religious items, i.e. Bibles, reading material and/or artifacts are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.”
Iowa Congressman Steve King’s office says that when he demanded an explanation, the hospital’s senior officers told him the memo was improperly worded and would be rewritten to affirm that religious items are “welcome in the hospital, if they are welcomed by the patient.”
On its website, Walter Reed now apologizes and says the visitation policy has been rescinded, that patients’ families may bring religious materials and that religious groups won’t be barred from visiting.
