Posted on 12/13/2011 6:26:29 PM PST by marshmallow
The only Catholic chaplain at the United Kingdom’s Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province reports that the troops show “a real hunger to know more about the Catholic religion.”
British Army chaplain Fr. David Smith, with the help of the charity Aid to the Church in Need, has provided books about the Catholic faith and prayer cards to help with the pastoral care of 400 service personnel in the Second Battalion of the Mercian Regiment, stationed in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.
The charity has sent the priest prayer cards and copies of YouCat, the Catholic Church’s new youth catechism.
Because of these resources, Fr. Smith can hold catechism classes every Friday night followed by the Rosary and Benediction. He celebrates Mass every day and three times on Sunday.
He found that many in the armed forces wanted to know more about their faith.
“Many of these young people have been short-changed by the Catholic education system and have left Catholic school not even knowing what the Blessed Sacrament is,” Fr. Smith told Aid to the Church in Need.
“It’s no wonder so many of them lapse from the practice of their faith. So I decided to try and do something about it.”
Military chaplains work alongside service personnel. They celebrate sacraments, conduct catechesis, and help and support troops who are doing “a very demanding job in the service of their country.”
“No more so than in Afghanistan at the moment,” Fr. Smith said.
Other clergy now in Afghanistan include American Bishop F. Richard Spencer of the Archdiocese for Military Services, who will spend Advent and Christmas ministering to U.S. and NATO troops and U.S. State Department staffers.
Secular western civilization sucks. The only ones who like it are freaks of nature, or those with seared consciences. My fear is that as militantly secular authoritarian governments parch the people’s spirits dry, Islamic fire will eventually be set to the tinder.
War zones tend to do that.
you speaking of which.
Did you see the thread of the sicko’s in MA who had twins but they were boys so they took one of the boys to the children’s hospital over years to give him shots to change him being a boy into a girl.
The Doc now is ready to cut it off, the boy is 5 inches smaller than his twin because of these shots and has been dressed as a girl since 5 years old possibly more
If the left let the Chaplains do their job you would see more of their agenda fading away and people standing up to it
I know when I served which was not long ago I turned to praying when we went out on patrol, after we got back and during fire fights.
No kidding.
Odd how we humans must reinvent the wheel almost every day. I thought the phrase "There are no athiests in foxholes" kinda covered it all.
Am I THAT out of date?
**“Many of these young people have been short-changed by the Catholic education system and have left Catholic school not even knowing what the Blessed Sacrament is,”**
This goes for many adults today too, not just the young men and women in the service.
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So sad that immature ignorant people are blessed with children.
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