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Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

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The Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A., officially the Military Ordinariate of United States of America,[1] is a Latin Church jurisdiction of the Catholic Church for men and women serving in the United States Armed Forces and their dependents.

Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

Ordinariatus Militaris Civitatum Fœderatarum Americae Septentrionalis
Location
CountryUnited States
Ecclesiastical provinceImmediately subject to the Holy See
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
Coordinates38°56′07″N 76°59′32″W / 38.9354°N 76.9921°W / 38.9354; -76.9921
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
Eastern Catholic Church
RiteMultiple Rites (primarily the Roman Rite)
EstablishedJuly 21, 1986;
38 years ago (1986-07-21)
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
ArchbishopTimothy Broglio
Auxiliary BishopsF. Richard Spencer
Neal Buckon
Joseph L. Coffey
William Muhm
Bishops emeritusRichard Higgins
Website
www.milarch.org

The archdiocese provides services to Catholics serving in military installations in the United States and overseas, to Catholic staff and patients at Veterans Heath Administration facilities,[2] and to Catholics at other federal services located overseas. The archdiocese does not have a cathedral, nor does it have jurisdiction over any territory; the headquarters are in Washington, D.C.

The archdiocese is considered a military ordinariate, headed by an archbishop. As of 2023, the archbishop is Timothy P. Broglio.

Description

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The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, was originally established as a military vicariate, with the Archbishop of New York serving as the military vicar. It was reorganized as an archdiocese, with its own archbishop. Its headquarters was relocated from New York City to Washington by Pope John Paul II in 1986.

While the Archdiocese of the Military Services is a Latin Church jurisdiction, clergy from the Eastern Catholic Churches may receive endorsement by the archdiocese. However, the Eastern Catholic priests must maintain bi-ritual faculties and be able to celebrate the sacraments in the ordinary form of the Roman Rite.[3]

The archbishop is assisted by several auxiliary bishops. Together, they oversee Catholic priests serving as chaplains throughout the world. Each chaplain remains incardinated into the diocese or religious institute for which he was ordained. In the United States, military chaplains have an officer's rank based on their years of service and promotion selection from among their peers. Chaplains wear the uniform of their respective branch of service, and normally wear clerical attire only during the performance of a religious service. The position of rank and chaplain faith group insignia varies in each military department and may vary significantly from one type of uniform to another within a military department.

Catholic (priest) chaplains are organized in the following active duty branches:

Catholic Chaplains also serve in reserve components of the US Army, Navy, and Air Force and are subject to the AMS when deployed and when in training status:

Additionally, Catholic chaplains are also found among the ranks of State Defense Forces in twenty states in ground, air and naval divisions.

The jurisdiction of the archdiocese extends to Catholics on all United States government property in the United States and abroad, including U.S. military installations, embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions.[1]

History

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During the 19th century, individual Catholic priests ministered to American soldiers and sailors during wartime without any central organizational structure. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, it had 25 Catholic military chaplains. By the end of the war, there were over 1,000. To prevent confusion among these priests over jurisdiction, Pope Benedict XV in November 1917 erected a military diocese of the US armed forces.[4] The pope appointed Auxiliary Bishop Patrick Hayes of the Archdiocese of New York as bishop of this new diocese.[5] Hayes was chosen because New York was the primary port of embarkation for U.S. troops leaving for France and was therefore a convenient contact point for Catholic chaplains serving with them. Hayes established four vicariates within the United States and one for troops overseas.[6]

After Hayes was named archbishop of New York in 1918, he remained in control of the military vicariate. When the war ended in 1919, Hayes dissolved the overseas vicariate, but Hayes kept the four American vicariates. Hayes died in 1938. In 1939, Pope Pius XII named Archbishop Francis Spellman of New York to head the military diocese. During World War II and later, Spellman spent many Christmases with American troops in Japan, South Korea and Europe.[7] Spellman died in 1967. In 1968, a month after being named archbishop of New York by Pope Paul VI, Terence Cooke also became the next head of the military diocese.[8] To assist Cooke with the military diocese, the pope in 1975 appointed Bishop Joseph T. Ryan from the Archdiocese of Anchorage as a coadjutor bishop.[9]Pope John Paul II in 1979 named a retired military chaplain, Rear Admiral John O'Connor as auxiliary bishop for the military diocese.[10] In 1985, O'Connor became archbishop of New York.

On July 21, 1986, John Paul II decided to take responsibility for the military services away from the archbishop of New York. He instead erected a separate Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.[11] Ryan became its first archbishop. Ryan retired in 1991.[9] The second archbishop of the Military Services was Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Dimino, a veteran of the US Navy Chaplain Corps. He was appointed by John Paul II in 1991.[12] In 1993, Dimino expressed his opposition to allowing LBGTQ+ persons to serve in the military to President Bill Clinton, saying that admitting gay men would have "disastrous consequences for all concerned."[13] While archbishop, Dimino added his support to a campaign started by John Paul II to eliminate the use of land mines.[14]

John Paul II named Auxiliary Bishop Edwin O'Brien of New York, a veteran of the US Army Chaplain Corps, as a coadjutor archbishop in 1997 to assist Dimino. When Dimino retired later in 1997 due to poor health, O'Brien automatically succeeded him as archbishop.[15] During his 10 years as archbishop of the Military Services, O'Brien divided his time between visiting American troops and working with the Pontifical North American College. In 1993, he initiated the cause of canonization for Emil Kapaun, a US Army chaplain killed during the Korean War.[16]

In 2006, O'Brien noted that declining public support for the Iraq War was leading to a decrease in morale among the troops, adding, "The news only shows cars being blown up, but the soldiers see hospitals being built and schools opening."[17] By 2007, he believed that the status of US operations in Iraq "compels an assessment of our current circumstances and the continuing obligation of the Church to provide a moral framework for public discussion."[18] In 2007, O'Brien became archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Timothy Broglio as head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA in 2007.[19] During his tenure, Broglio has voiced opposition to the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate and the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, and showed support for the Trump administration's ban on transgender individuals serving in the United States military.[20]

In 2012, Catholic Extension approved a $56,000 two year grant to the Archdiocese for the Military Services to support faith formation programs for Catholics in the United States military.[21] As of April 2013, about 25% of the U.S. armed forces were Catholic.[22]

As of 2017, the Archdiocese had 208 priests on active duty serving approximately 1.8 million people.[23]

Bishops

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Apostolic Vicar of the United States Armed Forces

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  1. Cardinal Patrick Joseph Hayes (1917-1938), concurrently served as Auxiliary Bishop of New York and later Archbishop of New York
  2. Cardinal Francis Joseph Spellman (1939-1967), concurrently served as Archbishop of New York
  3. Cardinal Terence James Cooke (1968-1983), concurrently served as Archbishop of New York

Apostolic Delegate for the United States Armed Forces

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  1. John Francis O'Hara (1939-1945), appointed Bishop of Buffalo and later Archbishop of Philadelphia (elevated to Cardinal in 1958)
  2. William Richard Arnold (1945-1965)

Archbishop for the Military Services, USA

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  1. John Joseph Thomas Ryan (1985-1991)
  2. Joseph Thomas Dimino (1991-1997)
  3. Edwin Frederick O'Brien (1997-2007), appointed Archbishop of Baltimore and later Pro-Grand Master and Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (elevated to Cardinal in 2012)
  4. Timothy P. Broglio (2008–present)

Coadjutor Archbishops

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  • John Joseph Thomas Ryan (1975-1985)
  • Edwin Frederick O'Brien (1997)

Auxiliary Bishops

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A Catholic chaplain ministers to American Marines and Sailors in Tikrit, Iraq
 
Chancery of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, in Washington, D.C.

Seat

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The diocesan chancery is located in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C., at 1025 Michigan Avenue Northeast.[24] The Archdiocese for the Military Services is the only U.S. diocese without a cathedral, but celebrates its major functions at the nearby Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, several blocks to the west.

Noncombatant status

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See also: Military chaplain § Non-combatant status

The Geneva Conventions state (Protocol I, June 8, 1977, Art 43.2) that chaplains are noncombatants: they do not have the right to participate directly in hostilities. Captured chaplains are not considered prisoners of war (Third Convention, August 12, 1949, Chapter IV Art 33) and must be returned to their home nation unless retained to minister to prisoners of war.

Reports of sexual abuse

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Army

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In 1985, Reverend Alvin L. Campbell from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois plead guilty to sexual abuse of minor. A former military chaplain, Campbell had been reprimanded by the Army for committing "indecent homosexual acts with a child". After leaving the Army, he was allowed to transfer to the Diocese of Springfield, where he committed his charged crimes. Sentenced to 14 years in prison, Campbell served seven years and was removed from public ministry by the archdiocese.[25][26]

In 2000, Reverend Mark Matson, an Army chaplain, was convicted of molesting a 13-year-old boy while serving at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. Matson received 20 years in prison.[27][25]

In 2005, Reverend Gregory Arflack was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting three US Marines in Qatar.[28]

Air Force

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In 1991, Reverend Thomas Chleboski, an Air Force chaplain, pled guilty to five counts of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 1989 and received a 20-year prison sentence.[29][30] He was accused of luring his victim with tours of Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.[31]

Reverend Barry Ryan, a chaplain who served two years in prison for separate acts of sex abuse he committed in 2003, was removed from the archdiocese in 1995 after allegations surfaced that he committed acts of sex abuse against a minor in 1994.[25][32]

In April 2019, Colonel Arthur Perrault, an Air Force chaplain, was convicted of sexually abusing an altar boy. The attacks took place at Kirtland Air Force Base, at an amusement park and a veterans' cemetery in New Mexico in the early 1990s.[30][33] Perrault was serving in the Air National Guard when the abuse took place.[25] To avoid accusations of child abuse, Perrault disappeared in 1992. He was located in Morocco in 2018 and was extradited to the United States. In September 2019, Perrault was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.[30][34]

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Reverend Neal Destefano with the US Navy Chaplain Corps was convicted in 1994 of sexually molesting two unconscious Marines after plying them with alcohol. He was dismissed from the service and sentenced to five years in federal prison.[35]

In 2007, Reverend John Thomas Lee with the Navy pleaded guilty to forcible sodomy and other charges. While serving at the US Naval Academy at Quantico in 2004, he forced a midshipman to engage in oral sex. Court martialled in 2007, Lee was sentenced to two years in prison.[36]

Notable chaplains by conflict

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The Catholic chaplains' monument on Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery.
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
Further information: U.S. Army Chaplain Museum

Mexican-American War

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American Civil War

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A Catholic Union Army chaplain celebrating mass for soldiers and officers during the American Civil War (1861–1865).

Spanish-American War

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World War I

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World War II

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A US Navy Catholic chaplain celebrates Mass for Marines on Saipan, June 1944, commemorating those who died during amphibious landings there.

Korean conflict

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See also: Chaplain–Medic massacre

Cold War (pre-Vietnam)

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Vietnam War

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Cold War (post-Vietnam)

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  • Reverend John A. Collins – Served as the Air Force chief of chaplains from 1982 to 1985
  • Reverend William Joseph Dendinger – Served as the Air Force chief of chaplains from 1997 to 2001.[66]
  • Reverend Patrick J. Hessian – Served as the Army chief of chaplains from 1982 to 1986
  • Reverend John P. McDonough – Served as the Air Force chief of chaplains from 1988 to 1991
  • Reverend Henry J. Meade – Served as the Air Force chief of chaplains from 1974 to 1978
  • Reverend Donald W. Shea – Served as the Army chief of chaplains from 1994 to 1999
  • Reverend Arthur S. Thomas – Served as the Air Force chief of chaplains from 1995 to 1997
 
U.S. Navy Chaplain Kenneth Medve celebrates Catholic Mass on board the USS Ronald Reagan (2006)

Iraq War/War on Terror

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Fiction and literature portraying Catholic military chaplains

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See also: Category:Films about Catholic priests

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b "Statutes of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA - Archdiocese for the Military, USA". Archdiocese of Military Services, USA. February 23, 2021. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024.
  2. ^ Bunson, Matthew (July 4, 2017). "Shepherding God's Military Flock". National Catholic Register. EWTN News, Inc. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  3. ^ "Endorsement". Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "United States of America, Military (Military Ordinariate) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Our Story". Salute. October 6, 2010. p. 7. Retrieved July 12, 2021 – via Issuu.
  6. ^ "The Military Vicariate · The Great War and Catholic Memory · Archives of the Archdiocese of New York Digital Collections". omeka.archnyarchives.org. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  7. ^ William V. Shannon (October 28, 1984). "Guileless and Machiavellian: Review of John Cooney, The American Pope". The New York Times. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  8. ^ "Terence James Cardinal Cooke [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Archbishop John Joseph Thomas Ryan [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  10. ^ Steinfels, Peter (May 4, 2000). "Death of a Cardinal; Cardinal O'Connor, 80, Dies; Forceful Voice for Vatican". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  11. ^ "Military Ordinariate of Archdiocese for the Military Services of the United States, USA". GCatholic. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  12. ^ "Archbishop Joseph Thomas Dimino [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  13. ^ Stammer, Larry B. (February 13, 1993). "Mahony Breaks Ranks to Back Gays in Military". The Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ "Brochure for the Catholic Campaign to End Landmines | USCCB". www.usccb.org. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  15. ^ "Edwin Frederick Cardinal O'Brien". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  16. ^ Riggs, Christopher (July 17, 2008). "Canonization cause formally opened for Father Kapaun, Korean War hero". Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012.
  17. ^ Linskey, Regina (December 14, 2006). "Iraq: More deaths, few stories of hope leave many asking what's next". Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on December 30, 2006.
  18. ^ Palmo, Rocco (July 12, 2007). "Balto Goes Gotham". Whispers in the Loggia.
  19. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 19.11.2007" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. November 19, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  20. ^ Case, Mary Anne (2019). "Trans Formations in the Vatican's War on "Gender Ideology"". Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 44 (3): 639–664. doi:10.1086/701498. S2CID 149472746.
  21. ^ "AMS Named Recipient of $56,000 Grant from Catholic Extension". Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. August 1, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  22. ^ Karen Jowers (April 5, 2013). "Training material listing Catholics as 'extremists' angers archdiocese". Army Times. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  23. ^ Christopher White (June 24, 2017). "White, Christopher. "Military Archdiocese faces uphill battle to serve troops", Crux, Jun 24, 2017". Cruxnow.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  24. ^ Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, official website. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  25. ^ a b c d "Military Chaplains Accused of Sexual Misconduct". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  26. ^ "Future Pope Refused to Defrock Convicted Priest". CBS News. May 30, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  27. ^ "Jailed Hawaii priest accused of mainland sex assault". www.hawaiinewsnow.com. April 22, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  28. ^ "Army chaplain gets five years for sex assaults". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  29. ^ Griffith, Stephanie (May 24, 1991). "D.C. PRIEST GETS 22 YEARS FOR MOLESTING VA. BOY, 13". Retrieved April 16, 2020 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  30. ^ a b c Lee, Morgan; Hudetz, Mary (April 12, 2019). "Former Air Force chaplain, a retired colonel, found guilty of sex abuse in New Mexico". Air Force Times. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  31. ^ Burns, Mary (February 19, 1995). "UNSACRED TRUST". Retrieved April 16, 2020 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  32. ^ "Fr. Barry E. Ryan | Priest". Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  33. ^ 'Few acts more horrific': former US priest jailed for 30 years for child sexual abuse The Guardian, 2019
  34. ^ Lee, Morgan; Hudetz, Mary (September 16, 2019). "Retired Air Force chaplain, a fugitive for 20 years, sentenced in Kirtland AFB sex abuse case". Air Force Times. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  35. ^ "Navy Chaplain Court-Martialed For Sex Charges Involving Two Marines". AP NEWS. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  36. ^ "Ex-Navy chaplain gets 2 years for sex crimes". NBC News. December 6, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  37. ^ a b O'Conner, Thomas H. "Breaking the religious barrier", The Boston Globe, Boston, May 10, 2004.
  38. ^ Craughwell, Thomas."When Fr. Corby Gave General Absolution to 530 Men at Gettysburg, later became President of the University of Notre Dame", National Catholic Register, July 2, 2017
  39. ^ Zwierlein, Frederick J. (1925). The Life and Letters of Bishop McQuaid. Vol. I. Rochester, New York: The Art Print Shop. pp. 346–347.
  40. ^ McClarey, Donald R. (October 3, 2016). "Hero of the Maine: Father John Chidwick". CatholicStand. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  41. ^ Administrator (August 22, 2008). "Chaplain John B. DeValles, Angel of the trenches". Catholics in the Military. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  42. ^ "Thomas J Barrett". Honor States.org. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  43. ^ Clifford M. Drury, The History of the Chaplain Corps, United States Navy, Volume 2 (1939–1949), Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1968, pp. 176–177.
  44. ^ "Joseph Gilmore". Honor States.org. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  45. ^ Profile, catholicnews.com; accessed July 8, 2015.
  46. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (September 30, 2011). "Philip Hannan, 98, Dies; New Orleans Archbishop". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  47. ^ "William A. Irwin". Honor States. org. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  48. ^ "Alfred W. Johnson". Honor States.org. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  49. ^ "Francis J. McManus". Honor States.org. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  50. ^ "FATHER O'CALLAHAN SPURNS NAVY CROSS". The Bell Syndicate, Inc. December 8, 1945. Retrieved June 1, 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  51. ^ "Pawns in fog of postwar?". Times Union. April 5, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
  52. ^ "Archbishop John Joseph Thomas Ryan". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.[self-published source]
  53. ^ "Sunday in Paradise". March 11, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  54. ^ "Army Chaplain's Cause for Canonization Ramps Up". m.ncregister.com. October 24, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  55. ^ Alexander, Bevin (2003). Korea: The First War We Lost. New York: Hippocrene Books. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7818-1019-7.
  56. ^ McCarthy, Joseph; Mundt, Karl E.; McLellan, John L.; Smith, Margaret C.; et al. (1954), Korean War Atrocities: Report of the Committee on Government Operations (PDF), US Government Printing Office, p. 7, retrieved July 11, 2010
  57. ^ A Servant of God, Father Kapaun died in a POW camp and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on April 11, 2013 by President Barack Obama. Milburn, John, "Army says Kansas Army chaplain Rev. Kapaun worthy of Medal of Honor for service in Korean War"[permanent dead link‍], Associated Press, October 13, 2009. Baltimore Sun website. Retrieved October 15, 2009. The article includes an undated photo (released by the Catholic Diocese of Wichita), showing Fr. Kapaun saying Mass in the field.
  58. ^ On Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery is a monument for 83 Catholic chaplains who died in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
  59. ^ Wenzl, Roy (January 25, 2022). "Vatican to reconsider whether Kapaun died a martyr, possibly speeding sainthood path". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  60. ^ Chaplain Dennis Murphy celebrates mass for the men of 65th AAA Bn., at Bolo Point, Okinawa. July 19, 1951. http://www.reporternews.com/photos/galleries/2010/jun/24/look-back-korean-war/18954 Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  61. ^ Miranda, Salvador. "John Joseph O'Connor". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Florida International University.
  62. ^ "Robert Brett". www.honorstates.org. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  63. ^ "Rev. Robert R. Brett, SM U.S. Navy Chaplain" (PDF). Marist Lives. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  64. ^ "Father Capodanno Biography". Archdiocese for the Military, USA. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  65. ^ "Dedham Soldier Receives Posthumous Medal of Honor". The Dedham Times. November 10, 2017. p. 6.
  66. ^ harold.reutter@theindependent.com, Harold Reutter (January 9, 2015). "Dendinger resigns as bishop, successor to be named next week". The Grand Island Independent. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  67. ^ Norby, Pat (May 28, 1992). "Rev. Mr. Timothy Vakoc". The Catholic Bulletin. p. 16.
  68. ^ Scroll down – through the 32 ecclesiastical provinces (in alphabetical order) – to the Washington archdiocese, below which is the Military Services archdiocese and its archbishop and auxiliary bishops.

Further reading

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Books

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See also: Military chaplain § Further reading
  • Crosby, Donald F., 1994. Battlefield Chaplains: Catholic Priests in World War II. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-7006-0814-1
  • O'Brien, Steve. Blackrobe in Blue: The Naval Chaplaincy of John P. Foley, S.J. 1942-1946 (see external link, below)
  • O'Rahilly, Alfred. The Padre of Trench Street (about Jesuit Father William Doyle). ISBN 1-905363-15-X
  • O'Malley, Mark Francis. An History of the Development of Catholic Military Chaplaincy in the United States. Gregorian University, 2009 (dissertation).

Internet

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