Armed with the faith

Armed with the Faith?

It *is* fitting that St. Ignatius *had* been a soldier, but then became something else (a saint, for one). It *is* fitting that St. Francis *had* been a soldier, but then became something else.

It is fitting that our own beloved and now deceased Pope, JPtG, said:

"Violence and arms can never resolve the problems of men... On my knees I beg you to turn away from the paths of violence and to return to the ways of peace...."

Our brothers and sisters in the military need us. We cannot abandon them. But a book of platitudes to make them feel better about killing and war will not suffice. It can only lead them further into the darkness.

I wish I had some waterproof books so I could read them in the bath.

JPII is not, thus far, a Doctor of the Church. Here is what a Doctor of the Church has to say on the matter: http://www.bartleby.com/268/7/4.html

...and even if he were a Doctor of the Church, you wouldn't have to take everything that he said as gospel.

And of course, St. Thomas Aquinas has quite a bit to say, too: http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/SS/SS040.html

As I'm reading this, though, I wonder: what about priests in the military (serving as chaplains)? St. Thomas argues that priests (and bishops) shouldn't be combatants. Now I don't know much about military chaplains, but it seems to me that they wouldn't be exempt from the duties of other soldiers. But then priests make the sacraments available to the soldiers...

And I do believe I remember that he's been on the wrong side of some questions - if I recall correctly, he argued against the Immaculate Conception, so obviously his isn't necessarily the last word.

Nobody ever said that Catholicism was too easy! (gosh I hope nobody's ever said that)

If I remember correctly from a priest I knew who was a chaplain in Desert Storm, they do not have normal "soldierly" duties. I believe they are taught some basic self-defense, but if I remember correctly he didn't/couldn't carry a weapon while in service.

So where can you get one for a family member in the military?

Military chaplains don't carry weapons. That's left to the chaplains' assistants.

When I was a kid (not that long ago; ~1999), living on an Army facility in Germany, we had a vocations day when the CCD kids were brought together one class at a time and the priest showed a video and gave a little talk. The video was a recruitment video from the Military Archdiocese that showed a priest being taken from ship to ship by helicopter, another saying Mass in the desert, etc. After the video, the priest told some stories about being flown behind the lines in Vietnam to say Mass. I was there to help with the third graders, and the little boys were all getting really excited; the stories were exciting and included lots of close calls. One boy even told his friend sitting next to him, "that's what I want to do!" Then father asked if there were any questions. One of the boys jumped up and asked what kind of gun he carried. Father said he didn't carry a gun, but the chaplains' assistant did. The boys all got quiet really fast, so father explained that the chaplains' assistant's job was to protect him and drive the jeep and stuff. That about did it; every boy in the room had decided that his vocation was as a chaplains' assistant. :)

"Our brothers and sisters in the military need us. We cannot abandon them. But a book of platitudes to make them feel better about killing and war will not suffice. It can only lead them further into the darkness."

My husband and I and our children, all of us former Protestants, came into the Church this year. The kids and I joined at our local parish, utilizing their somewhat deficient RCIA program. My husband, a Marine, joined while deployed to Iraq. He had the most wonderful priest, who even sent me some .pdf files of their handouts when I mentioned to my husband in an email that our catechesis was rather.. thin. There were six or seven more people in his group, more waiting to start after his groups, and many more groups all over Iraq. Protestant religious services saw high usage as well. I highly doubt that prayer books and such handed out to the military "make them feel better about killing and war" which " only lead them further into the darkness." They, along with other services and information chaplains provide, are more likely to act as lights in the midst of the darkness that wars and conflicts can be.

My dh and I converted to the Catholic faith while we were stationed overseas in Italy. It was the Navy priests who helped us, gave us the sacraments and baptized our children.
Military chaplains are stationed in many places (some war zones, some not)so American servicemen and their families can receive the sacraments.

Last weekend my nephew got married at the West Point Catholic chapel. I noticed that the stained glass windows depict saints who were soldiers (including a really interesting one of St. Ignatius in his Spanish fighting outfit).
It's a reminder that some things are worth fighting for and in some cases to refuse to fight for them is to hand people over to a greater tyranny.

I agree, Sr Lorraine. Doesn't the Church teach that there is a moral obligation to defend one's life and the life of others, using violence only as a last resort?

I’ ve heard every excuse under the sun (and some probably from above it) and seen them all disproven, from school violence prevention (a girl almost got killed in a fight once in my school… both she and the attacker wore school uniforms) to enhanced academic performance (I’ ve been in both advanced and mainstream courses this year… both the same things I took in other grades– from second to ninth grade) and cost efficiency (I knew a girl who didn’ t even have her own pair of shoes, she borrowed them. You can...