No. of Recommendations: 14
…… and actual, historical Christianity:
April 3 (Good Friday): Pentagon sends an email to 3,500+ employees: “Just a friendly reminder: There will be a Protestant Service (No Catholic Mass) for Good Friday today at the Pentagon Chapel.” A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed it was the only service scheduled. No separate Catholic service of any kind — the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion — was offered. A Pentagon employee who has worked there since 1980 told reporters it was the first time in their memory a Catholic service wasn’t available on Good Friday.
Roughly a quarter of U.S. military personnel identify as Catholic. The Archbishop for the Military Services, Timothy Broglio — who appeared on Face the Nation this Sunday — has publicly declared the Iran war unjust under Catholic just war doctrine.
The contrast that should have been the story: Pope Leo XIV, on Palm Sunday: “Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” The Pope was speaking directly about this war. He was speaking directly about Hegseth’s prayer. That contrast — the sitting Secretary of Defense invoking Jesus to pray for “overwhelming violence against those who deserve no mercy” while the Pope says Jesus “rejects the prayers of those who wage war” — is one of the most significant theological and political confrontations of the year.
Stephen Schmidt
