Soldiers At The Service Of Peace

They have a lot of conferences over in Rome about . . . well, all kinds of stuff. Shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings. Everything from soup to nuts.

I’m not always sure how necessary or valuable some of these conferences are, but here’s one I can really get behind:

The fifth international congress of military ordinates is focusing on the theme "Soldiers at the Service of Peace."

The president of the congress, being held in the Vatican from Oct. 23-27, is Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

He is being assisted by Father Giulio Cerchietti, head of the congregation’s central office for the pastoral coordination of military ordinariates.

As they saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes (a slight exaggeration, but not much of one), and soldiers definitely need pastoral care.

I’m also glad–among much of the reflexive peace-at-any-costs language that we encounter in some ecclesiastical circles–a recognition of the Catechism’s reality-based statement that

Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of
the security and freedom of nations. If they carry out their duty honorably,
they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of
peace (CCC 2310).

Amen.

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Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

4 thoughts on “Soldiers At The Service Of Peace”

  1. Thank, Jimmy. The motto of the late, great Strategic Air Command(in which I had the honor to serve), was: “Peace is our profession.”

  2. Hmmmm. Interesting to see this right now. At the age of 41 and in the middle of a successful technical-consulting career, marriage, and parenthood, I’m mulling over whether I should join the National Guard. Was it Chesterton who said that all men regret not having been a soldier?

  3. Ephesians 6:11-12
    In some sense, we’re all soldiers. We must take the example of the brave who fight the seen so that we might better battle the unseen.
    Thank you to all the fine Soldiers who provide an exemplary example.

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