The Mount Soledad war memorial cross in San Diego has been previously ruled as unconstitutional, violating the Establishment Clause. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently refused to rehear the case or grant an en banc review. Notably, however, 5 of the 11 judges dissented in the denial of an en banc rehearing. The premise of their dissent was that the court had inappropriatelly analyzed the memorial: Read more
The Jewish Chaplains Memorial that will join the others at Chaplain’s Hill in Arlington will be dedicated in a ceremony next Monday, 24 October.
The memorial is a bronze plaque with the names of the 14 Jewish Chaplains who died while on duty from 1943 to 1974; at the top are two lions bracketing the Jewish chaplains’ insignia, which is two tablets with a Star of David on top.
As a point of trivia, none of the chaplains memorialized Read more
A military news release notes the celebration of the Jewish High Holy days by US servicemembers at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. As previously noted, four Jewish Chaplains have fanned out across Afghanistan to ensure the right to free exercise of military servicemembers even while they are deployed to a combat area in response to their country’s call.
The ongoing celebrations recognize the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and Jewish servicemembers can even celebrate by erecting traditional (if somewhat modernized) Jewish Sukkahs. Given the locale, the religious exercise of Read more
The South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum has opened a new exhibit featuring religion during the Civil War.
Throughout the nation’s history, American soldiers have fought for God and country. During the Civil War, the bonds of country were blurred, but faith in God remained strong on both sides, blue and gray… Read more
The UK Guardian‘s Riazat Butt continued her reporting on religion in the British forces in Afghanistan with an article on the UK chaplaincy, which is similar to the chaplaincy in the US military, but with some significant differences. Still, the content of the fairly long article is interesting.
Noting the importance of the ministry of presence by chaplains (who are, in fact, on the “front lines” with the troops): Read more
While homosexual ceremonies may be permissible on military institutions according to the Pentagon, it appears that ruling may not extend to the Catholic chapel at West Point.
Taylor Henry, spokesman for Archbishop Timothy Broglio — who oversees all Catholic chaplains in the US military — said
the Holy Trinity chapel at the famous military school is a Catholic parish, unlike the non-denominational chapels that are found on other military installations, and that the only services held there are Catholic services.
Since the Roman Catholic Church “does not perform the sacrament of matrimony for same-sex couples,” no such ceremonies will take place at that institution, Henry said.
In addition, consistent with the military’s message on the matter, Henry explicitly said no Catholic chaplain would be performing similar ceremonies of “unions between individuals of the same gender resembling marriage.”
Broglio also noted what some are saying is an inconsistency between the military’s recent policy and the Defense of Marriage Act: Read more
As noted previously, the US military has four Jewish Chaplains in Afghanistan to help US servicemembers celebrate the Jewish High Holy days; in fact, three of the chaplains are in country temporarily solely for that reason.
Four rabbis – roughly 15 percent of the military’s Jewish chaplaincy – are visiting Afghanistan, including several remote military installations, to help troops and civilian employees mark the High Holidays through Oct. 21.
The four are Army Chaplains (LtCol) Laurence Bazer, (Col) Jacob Goldstein, (LtCol) Avi Weiss, and (Navy Lt) Josh Sherwin. Chaplain Bazer noted the significance of the Jewish presence in the predominantly Islamic country: Read more
British Army Chaplain Stephen Hancock has an interesting article at the UK Ministry of Defense website on “life on the front line.” While the article is interesting on the whole, Chaplain Hancock’s underlying premise of service is worth highlighting:
I really believe in visibility, that a chaplain should be seen walking around talking to anybody and everybody. By doing that you build relationships and soldiers and officers will trust you. If you’re invisible you have no Read more