May

15

2010

A Chaplain’s View from Iraq

Filed Under Liberty and Democracy | Leave a Comment

Someone I like to think of as a distant relation, John Joseph O’Connor, once wrote a fine book titled A Chaplain Looks at Vietnam. It defended the U.S. presence in the region at a time when few others would, let alone a Catholic priest serving as a U.S. Navy chaplain. (O’Connor went on to become a rear admiral, Chief of Chaplains, ordinary for the military vicariate, and Cardinal Archbishop of New York.)

I thought of that book today when I got this story in an email from a less-distant cousin of mine. Though it’s a far cry from the feature-length analysis done by O’Connor 40 years ago, it does give us a glimse of that unique perspective seen by men of God ministering to men of war.

When my customary check of Snopes.com didn’t turn up anything, I googled it and found it was actually a blog post. So, rather than forward the email, I figured I’d add a post about it since I haven’t put anything up for awhile. Enjoy!