"Serving Those Who Serve: Archdiocese For The Military Services"

Friends,

This is the poster that has been sent out for every Catholic diocese
and parish in the U.S. to display on behalf of the coming
first-time-ever National Collection for the Catholic Military
Archdiocese. The buzz phrase to entice people to contribute to the
collection is "Serving those who Serve."

"Serving those who Serve." This is a heart-grabbing, marketing-speak
sound byte that purports to say everything that needs to be said, but
in fact communicates nothing except, "Open your wallet." It is well
chosen for a culture that has been labeled the "sound bite society."

The problem with the sound byte, the ideograph, the one-liner, the
catchphrase is that its catchiness overshadows the broader context in
which it is spoken or written and thereby misleads people about the
truth of the matter being presented. Senator James DeMint once said,
"There is a reason why most politicians speak in sound bytes: Once
they get out of that they open themselves up to questions."

"Serving those who Serve" is similar to Notre Dame's PR fund raising
campaign sound byte strategy, “We teach values." Of course Notre Dame
teaches values, what educational institution doesn't? There is no such
thing as a value-free education. But what values does it teach by word
and by example as genuinely worthwhile? Whose values does it teach by
word and example? The values taught by Jesus? Or, are there values
contrary to the explicit teaching of Jesus in the Gospels that are
being taught? Or, both? One would have thought that a University that
designates itself as Catholic and hence is utterly dependent on Jesus
for its very existence and meaning would have no problem saying in a
fund raising campaign, “We teach Gospel values," or "We teach Jesus'
values."

The Catholic Military Archdiocese is about the same process as was
Notre Dame except with a different modus operandi geared to a
different audience. The poster for its national collection accurately
states, "Serving those who serve,” as Notre Dame’s fundraising program
aimed at national television audiences and secular corporations
accurately stated, “We teach values.” Who can be against teaching
values? Who can be against serving those who are serving others? But,
what values are being taught?  How are the Catholic military chaplains
serving those who serve?

Since men and women in the military are engaged in the violence of
killing and maiming other human beings, does the Catholic Military
Archdiocese serve those who serve by making sure that each and every
young Catholic recruit that comes into the U.S. military is thoroughly
informed of the two, the only two, moral positions in relations to war
that a Catholic may employ in order to evaluate whether the killing he
or she is ordered to do is murder? How often do Catholic military
chaplains give sermons or deliver platoon or company wide catechetical
presentations on these two ethical options, i.e., the nonviolence and
love of enemies tradition proclaimed by Jesus and the Catholic just
war tradition initiated by Ambrose and Augustine in the late fourth
century? Would not human reasonableness, spiritual honesty and moral
rectitude in regard to those in one's spiritual care demand, that
since Catholics in the military are to be engaged in killing and
maiming human beings, they should be well aware of what Jesus and
their Church teach on the subject of killing and maiming other human
beings? Is presenting this information accurately, coherently,
intelligibly and in a pedagogically sound manner to those immortal
souls in its spiritual care, the way the Catholic military chaplaincy
"Serves those who Serve?"

And, those whom the Catholic Military Archdiocese is serving, the
Catholic military personnel, who are they serving? Jesus? If it is not
Jesus, is the Catholic Military Archdiocese serving them spiritually
by making it clear to them, as Catholics, that they cannot serve two
masters—and what the logical network of moral obligations that derive
from this truth is for a Baptized person who has irrevocably committed
his or her life to Jesus as Lord, God and Savior, the Way, the Truth
and the Life? Or, are the Catholics in the military being served by
being led to believe, implicitly and/or explicitly by the Archdiocese
of Military Services and/or its military chaplains, that killing and
maiming other human beings on orders from the rulers of a kingdom of
this world is serving Jesus?

When the above poster was sent to every Catholic parish in every
Catholic diocese in the U.S., a letter accompanied it from the
Military Ordinary, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, which reads in part:

Dear Fathers,

"How can we, as witnesses to the Gospel, be there for those who put so
much on the line to defend our nation?"

Here again we encounter the heart-tugging, fog of war rhetoric
calculated to elicit an unreserved, emotionally laden, positive
response to a question that camouflages the truth of what the priest
is being asked to religiously support?

So, I will restate the question so that it is unambiguously forthright
about what the parish priests in the U.S. are being asked to support
by the Military Ordinariate's Archbishop:

"How can we, as witnesses to the Gospel, be there for those who put so
much on the line to defend our nation and empire by killing and
maiming other sons and daughters of the 'Father of all’ and even
killing and maiming fellow Baptized members of the Body of Christ,
whom they have never met but whom they have been told are their
enemies?"

By just this small addition to the Military Archbishop's sentence to
the priests, an addition that is 100% factually accurate, Catholic
parish priests—and their Bishops—around the country would have clarity
of mind about how much they, "as witnesses to the Gospel, are being
asked to put on the line in order to support in conscience before
Christ-God this collection.

-Emmanuel Charles McCarthy

www.centerforchristiannonviolence.org or www.emmanuelcharlesmccarthy.org