God bless army chaplains like the Rev. Fr. Marcus Hodges in Basrah, Iraq. At constant risk of injury or death, these priests put their life on the line to fulfill their ministry.
Writing in the New Statesman Faith Column, Fr. Marcus says: "[the chaplain] makes visible his membership of a kingdom of values and hope which he hopes will transcend the dirt and confusion that characterise armed conflict"
2 comments:
considering catholics of all hues didn't do much to visibly or vocally resist this obscene war, I feel obliged to also remind people of another 'new statesman' article where, more importantly, we have to ask God's forgiveness for the evil done by politicians and service men and women on our behalf... see
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2008/07/british-pilger-britain-torture
Being an army chaplain does not imply support for or approval of war. And so many of the young men who join the army come from parts of Britain where the economy is so dire that the army is the only alternative to a lifetime on the dole.
The willingness of the Catholic chaplains to put themselves in danger in order to be able to administer the Last Rites was mentioned by Robert Graves in his account of World War I, "Goodbye to all that". Whole platoons would claim to be Catholic in order to have a chaplain who would stay with them in the trenches.
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