Wicca religion of new prison chaplain stirs up concern, outrage and hostile comments
10:44 PM 12/06/01
Susan Lampert Smith Wisconsin State Journal

   WAUPUN - Wisconsin's newest prison chaplain has become the target of a witch hunt.
   Rev. Jamyi Witch was in her first week of work at the Waupun Correctional Institution when the news exploded Thursday that Wisconsin had hired its first Wiccan prison chaplain.
   Rep. Scott Walker, R-Wauwatosa, head of the assembly committee that regulates prison, said he was "offended" by Witch's religion and was looking into whether she had been hired in defiance of the state's hiring freeze.
   Another legislator, Rep. Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, threatened Thursday to pull funding from the prison chaplain program, calling Witch's hiring "hocus-pocus" and headlining his press release "Huebsch burns Waupun witch project."
   Over at the Department of Corrections, the phones have been ringing, too.
   "People have not been nice," said department spokesman Bill Clausius, of those calling to complain. "Most people don't understand that a chaplain is not a minister; it's a coordinator of religious practices for all inmates."
   At the center of the furor is Witch, 43, an ordained Wiccan minister, as well as a mother, Girl Scout leader, school volunteer and former hospice and crisis counselor. Witch - who changed her previous name to Witch - said she respects all religions and will only perform services for the 30 or so of Waupun's 1,200 inmates who practice Wicca, an ancient nature-based religion.
   "Chaplain means non-denominational, and I hold that in my heart," said Witch, who lives in Mount Horeb. "When I walk through the (prison) gates, I'm not a Wiccan.
   "I was chosen for my qualifications, not my faith," she said.
   Witch was hired to a $32,565 state position to be one of two prison chaplains helping meet the religious needs of Waupun's 1,200 inmates. The other chaplain, Rev. Francis Paliekara, is a former Catholic priest who is now an Episcopalian.
   Warden Gary McCaughtry said Witch emerged as the top candidate from a list of qualified applicants forwarded by the state. In addition to her Wiccan ordination by the Circle Sanctuary near Barneveld and the International Order of Tara, in Canada, Witch has served as a volunteer in the prisons for two years and has helped train Corrections Department employees in alternative religions, McCaughtry said.
   "It used to be that we had a Catholic chaplain and a Protestant chaplain, and when the Catholic chaplain left, you hired another Catholic," McCaughtry said. "Now we have to run a program that is value-free and meets the needs of all our prisoners."
   McCaughtry said the system, which hired a Muslim chaplain a few years ago, seeks chaplains who can work with prisoners of all faiths.
   About 400 Waupun prisoners list themselves as Christians, 100 as Muslim, and the rest either have no religious preference or belong to smaller groups, such as the Wiccans, McCaughtry said.
   Rep. Walker said that he'd like to see the state hire chaplains based on the religious affiliations of a majority of inmates. Walker said his office "phones are ringing off the hook," thanks to people upset by the hiring.
   "Clearly there are a lot of people who are offended by this," said Walker, a Baptist who said that he was personally offended by Wicca. "It's a very narrow practice that a lot of people - Christians, Jews, Muslims, - find offensive."
   Deb Tetzlaff, director of religious and other programs at Waupun, said she was bothered by the reaction.
   "Religious intolerance really bugs me," Tetzlaff said. "We're fighting a war right now over religious intolerance, for gosh sake."
   Selena Fox, director of Circle Sanctuary near Barneveld where Witch received her training, called Huebsch's remarks about witch burning "very disappointing."
   "Would people joke about gassing Jews or lynching blacks?" she said. "The genocide that happened in old Europe was a very dark chapter in Western civilization and not a joking matter."
   Fox said that U.S. military and federal prisons are served by Wiccan chaplains and that she consults with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and the Armed Forces Chaplains board.
   "The trend nationwide is to make sure Wiccans have equal rights as members of a world religion," said Fox, who called the reaction, "the same kind of noise that happens whenever any social barrier is broken."
   For her part, Witch said she understands that people have questions about her religion but hopes it will be met with the tolerance guaranteed under the Constitution. She said she has a long history of working with people of other faiths and has no interest in proselytizing or converting inmates to Wicca.
   "Faith is so important to people," she said. "I honor your faith. It teaches you right from wrong, it makes your family stronger and it helps you know you're accountable."
   Warden McCaughtry said the prison checked the background of Witch and her religion, and he thinks both are compatible with the institution's goals.
   "People think it's anti-social," McCaughtry said of Wicca. "It's pro-social and pro-humanity and in concert with the values we're trying to present to inmates to improve their lives and overcome their criminality."