Posted on 10/04/2013 3:05:02 PM PDT by sheikdetailfeather
In a stunning development, some military priests are facing arrest if they celebrate mass or practice their faith on military bases during the federal government shutdown.
“With the government shutdown, many [government service] and contract priests who minister to Catholics on military bases worldwide are not permitted to work – not even to volunteer,” wrote John Schlageter, the general counsel for the Archdiocese for the Military Services USA, in an op-ed this week. “During the shutdown, it is illegal for them to minister on base and they risk being arrested if they attempt to do so.”
According to its website, the Archdiocese for the Military Services “provides the Catholic Church’s full range of pastoral ministries and spiritual services to those in the United States Armed Forces.”
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
And he will get away with it because there is only a handful of people who are willing to do anything to stop it.
I agree with you Chaplain Litekeeper that they are contractors, and that they are civilians, not military. I can see a contract being rescinded or delayed. I’m sure it’s in the fine print. A commander cannot deficit spend if he has his budget reduced or access to it taken away.
However, a volunteer filling in does NOT impact negatively on anything. No funds are expended whatsoever.
(Also, if funds come from offering plates, non-appropriated funds, then I can see new contracts being drawn up with money redirected from offering plates.)
I find it really odd that they “volunteers will be arrested” part of this has been uttered. In short, this amounts to an order to close churches, Catholic Churches in particular. THAT is an obviously illegal order.
To say volunteer help cannot be used is to say that 95% of everything that takes place in chapel programs cannot take place. Just like in our civilian churches, volunteers run almost everything. Assume that an old retired priest or minister is in the congregation. What exactly is wrong with that person leading a service?
Deeper, by what authority is the freedom of exercise forbidden?
My guess is that Moslem clerics aren’t affected.
Correct. They will not be permitted to exercise their religious ministry on the base during Obama's shutdown. Other stories indicate that should they attempt to do so, they risk arrest.
Thanks for the background on this subject.
So, basically, this is access to the base. No priest is going to be able to storm a base.
It’s very different from a base chaplain already on base, proceding to prepare for Holy Mass and being willing to be thrown in the brig.
Also, priests on base celebrate Holy Mass daily regardless if anyone is present or not, and it doesn’t matter where, so it’s the soldiers who are deprived. I think.
Another large consideration is for the regard of safety for Christ in the consecrated Host. If the bread has been consecrated, a priest will defend the Host to the death, or should. If not consecrated, he may be more bold.
I would like to see a priest conduct a volunteer service on post and be arrested for it. I don’t believe they’d do it.
First, it can’t possibly be illegal, especially if the priest has legitimately signed onto post or has other privileges that allow him on post.
It is not illegal to conduct a religious service.
Furloughed chaplains should be able to give prayer services on a volunteer basis, according to a House vote on Saturday.
The House resolution approved in a 400-1 vote argues the Obama administration should allow contract chaplains who have been furloughed to continue offering prayer services on a volunteer basis.
Right now, chaplains who do so could be charged with trespassing or arrested because of the government shutdown.
The only "no" vote came from Rep. Bill Enyart (D-Ill.)........................"
Me too! I just don’t see how the volunteer priest gets *on* post to even get arrested for beginning a Mass. Just trying to get on base seems to be the take away moment for any arrest to occur. Do you think so?
I’m certain if they are *already* on base, any priest will be doing Holy Mass, even in his apartment if need be, or out doors, anywhere, and willing to be arrested, but he would have to be already on base.
Awesome. Thanks for the update.
xzins - FYI in case you missed it.
It actually is perfectly allowable for civilians to get on base. Our kids played sports when at Ft Campbell and Knox, and their schools were on post. Whether football, track, baseball/softball, golf, cross-country, whatever, the opposing teams and their fans were from all over the area and simply signed onto post.
You could right now.
So, a civilian priest who signs onto post is just fine. And chapels are not in restricted areas. It would be easy to attend a chapel on post.
Also, many folks have their individual access to a military installation: some are retired, some in national guard/reserve, some have connections to other programs run on post, some have jobs at px, commissary, education center.
They are going to need more than practice to defeat us veterans.
Thanks again for that important clarification. You can be sure then, that there will be a show down. Thanks! Rita .)
Thank you, Girlene.
They could not be dumber than they’ve been with the barrycades around memorials, parks, geysers.
They actually seem to think that they own them and not us.
A park is a recreational bit of nature set aside for people to enjoy. It’s been walked over for millennia without any injury whatsoever, and now the groundskeepers want to tell us that they’re in charge of our property???
But to deny worship is dumber than dumb. It flies in the face of what God tells us to do. Forget the first amendment (although it’s on our side, of course).
But I will disobey that order because I’m to render to God what is God’s. His rule. Not mine.
I agree. I would say civil disobedience is in order, except no one would be breaking the law if they ignored these latest “rules” over the shutdown.
The memorials, the federal lands belong to us. Denying priests/chaplains the ability to voluntarily lead worship service???? The govt is the entity being disobedient to the Constitution, not any priest or chaplain.
“sure he was...”
Uh, no. He wasn’t suggesting that the victims of Soviet tyranny trot on down to the Kremlin and sit in a circle holding hands singing Kumbaya, and make the Soviet police carry them to paddy wagons. He was suggesting that those victims kill the Soviet police when they came to arrest them.
Uh, no. He wasn’t suggesting that the victims of Soviet tyranny trot on down to the Kremlin and sit in a circle holding hands singing Kumbaya, and make the Soviet police carry them to paddy wagons. He was suggesting that those victims kill the Soviet police when they came to arrest them.
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That is about as civilly disobedient as one can get.
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