**
Dr. Eowyn posted: "My heart is so sickened by this, I am crying tears of
rage. What Obama and the Demonrats are doing is denying our soldiers the
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. H/t FOTM's Donna and my bud Mark S. McGrew
~Eowyn Steve Skojec reports for Catholi" Respond to this post by
replying above this line
New post on *Fellowship of the Minds*
<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/eowyn2/> U.S. military priests
threatened with arrest for celebrating Mass voluntarily without
pay<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/10/05/u-s-military-priests-threatened-with-arrest-for-celebrating-mass-voluntarily-without-pay/>
by
Dr. Eowyn <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/eowyn2/>
My heart is so sickened by this, I am crying tears of rage.
What Obama and the Demonrats are doing is denying our soldiers the Body and
Blood of Jesus Christ.
H/t FOTM's Donna and my bud Mark S. McGrew
*~Eowyn*
[image:
military-chaplains-celebrate-EASTER-575x299]<http://www.catholicvote.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/military-chaplains-celebrate-EASTER-575x299.jpg>
Steve Skojec reports for *Catholic
Vote:*<http://www.catholicvote.org/military-priests-face-arrest-for-celebrating-mass-in-defiance-of-shutdown/>
Military Priests Face Arrest For Celebrating Mass In Defiance of
Shutdown<http://www.catholicvote.org/military-priests-face-arrest-for-celebrating-mass-in-defiance-of-shutdown/>
Our government is out of control.
First, it was the World War II veterans who had to break down barriers to
see the open air, un-attended memorial erected in their honor. A memorial
which is on public land but is supported – including the National Park
Service fee – with *private* funds. This week there was more security
surrounding this memorial — just to keep elderly veterans out — than there
was at our embassy in Benghazi the night it was attacked.
And for what? To inflict as much pain as possible through this government
shutdown. It’s called Washington Monument
Syndrome<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument_Syndrome>,
and it’s pure political theater.
But now there’s a story just coming to light that takes things even
further. According the Archdiocese for Military Services, GS and
contract *priests
(who are paid by the federal government as independent contractors in
places where there aren’t enough active-duty priests to meet the needs of
Catholics in military service) are being forbidden from celebrating Mass,
even on a volunteer basis.*
*If they violate this restriction, they face possible arrest. FOR
CELEBRATING MASS. *
>From John Schlageter, General Counsel for the
Archdiocese<http://www.milarch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=dwJXKgOUJiIaG&b=8486699&ct=13344123>
:
*There is a chronic shortage of active duty Catholic chaplains. While
roughly 25% of the military is Catholic, Catholic priests make up only
about 8% of the chaplain corps.* That means approximately 275,000 men and
women in uniform, and their families, are served by only 234 active-duty
priests. The temporary solution to this shortage is to provide GS and
contract priests. These men are employed by the government to ensure that
a priest is available when an active duty Catholic Chaplain is not
present. *With the government shutdown, GS and contract priests who
minister to Catholics on military bases worldwide are not permitted to work
– not even to volunteer. During the shutdown, it is illegal for them to
minister on base and they risk being arrested if they attempt to do so.*
As an example, if a Catholic family has a Baptism scheduled at the base
chapel at Langley AFB this weekend, unless they can locate a priest who is
not a GS or contract priest, they should consider it cancelled. Likewise,
a Marine who attends Sunday Mass at the Quantico Chapel will have to go
elsewhere this weekend. If you are a Catholic stationed in Japan or Korea
and are served by a Contract or GS priest, unless you speak Korean or
Japanese and can find a church nearby, then you have no choice but to go
without Mass this weekend. Until the Federal Government resumes normal
operations, or an exemption is granted to contract or GS priests, Catholic
services are indefinitely suspended at those worldwide installations served
by contract and GS priests.
At a time when the military is considering alternative sources of funding
for sporting events at the service academies, no one seems to be looking
for funding to ensure the Free Exercise rights of Catholics in uniform. Why
not?
*This shutdown impacts Catholics in the military worldwide.* In the
DC-metro area, it specifically impacts bases like Quantico. On the Facebook
page <https://www.facebook.com/milarchusa> for the Archdiocese, Catholic
military members commenting on the story are not happy. Comments include:
“This is outrageous!!! Especially threatening them with arrest to
voluntarily do their job.”
“Unbelievable! I was worried about this because our priest is contracted as
well. It is bad enough to be furloughed but to not have a Mass to attend,
is a real downer,”
“Just one example, a couple is getting married tomorrow at a large Air
Force Base that is staffed by a Contract priest. That priest did all of
their marriage prep, and has gotten to know the couple very well over the
past few months. But with the shutdown, he cannot perform their wedding.
Instead of the priest that the couple has come to know and love, an active
duty priest has to be sent in to perform the wedding of two people who are
strangers to him and he to them.”
” Is anyone up there going to start a protest?! A rosary ?!?!? A nice
Catholic riot maybe?! PLEEEAAASSEEE?! SOMEONE?! ANYONE?! Any real Carholics
out there?!!!!???!”
This is outrageous. *It is a violation of the First Amendment. It is a
prohibition of the free exercise of religion to order priests under penalty
of arrest that they cannot volunteer their time to offer Mass to the
faithful on base.* This cannot be allowed to stand.
As of this writing, I have not yet received a response to my inquiry to the
Archdiocese for Military Services as to what specific action steps we can
take to get this problem addressed. Until we have a path to resolution,
please share this story as widely as possible. Make people aware that
Catholics serving our country are being forcibly denied access to the
sacraments. These are the lengths the administration and the Democrats in
Congress are willing to go to in order to continue inflicting as much pain
as possible on the American people during the shutdown.
*UPDATE – 10/4/2013 @ 12:34PM: *I received a response from the Military
Archdiocese. Mr. Schlageter writes with a correction and additional
information from the original release:
There will be Mass at Quantico because of the terms of service of the
contract for the priest at Quantico. Nonetheless, 3 Masses have been
cancelled at local Fort Belvoir. I have been told but cannot confirm that
Mass has been cancelled at the Navy yard. In one situation a couple that
is to be married at an Air Force Base this Saturday and did all of their
preparation with a GS priest will now be married by an active duty priest
who is being taken in from somewhere else. This means that the priest that
the couple got to know over the past few months will not be able to witness
their marriage. One priest in Virginia Beach will be celebrating Mass in a
local park off base.
We are also learning that some chapel musicians will not be able to play
at Sunday Mass during the furlough.
I think that the best thing people can do is to get the message out. I
would suggest that they contact their local members of Congress, but in
those cases where parishes are located next to a military base that will
not have Sunday Mass, that people be kind and welcoming to their military
brothers and sisters and their families.
*Please do contact your local member of Congress and welcome our service
members into your parishes. And continue to spread the message about these
restrictions.*
*UPDATE – 10/4/2013 @ 2:32PM: *
I just got word that while the Navy Yard is staffed with an active-duty
priest who will not be impacted by the shutdown, the GS priest at the
nearby Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling is furloughed. Since Anacostia-Bolling
has the larger chapel, the active duty priest from Navy Yard will be
celebrating Sunday Mass at Anacostia-Bolling instead of Navy Yard. The
Catholic Community at the Navy Yard has been invited to attend Sunday Mass
at Anacostia Bolling.
*Dr. Eowyn <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/eowyn2/>* | October 5,
2013 at 6:16 am | Tags: Archdiocese for Military
Services<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=archdiocese-for-military-services>,
Catholic vote <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=catholic-vote>, Government
Shutdown <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=government-shutdown>, John
Schlageter <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=john-schlageter> |
Categories:
Christians/Christianity<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=111409284>,
Constitution <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=29050>,
Evil<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=35821819>,
God <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=7816>,
Liberals/Democrats/Left<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=115894710>,
Military <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=33806753>,
Obama<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=376320>,
Obama's America <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=12285619>,
persecution<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=79343>,
Religion <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=4983159> | URL:
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