Archbishop Edward O'Brien, formerly the Archbishop of The U.S. Armed Forces and recently named as Archbishop of Baltimore, recently gave a speach in which he stated that military chaplains should do all that they can to advocate against using torture and targeting civilians. Archbishop O'Brien was particularly concerned about the documented torture by U.S. forces against detainees in Iraqi prisons.
While I continue to have significant concerns about the hierarchy of the Catholic Church (concerns that are no greater or less than those I have with civil leaders), I must give Archbishop O'Brian a significant amount of credit for publicly stating his feelings on a very controversial issue. Given that he is no longer Archbishop of the U.S. Armed Forces, he might have felt a bit more freedom to question some of the policies of the White House and the Pentagon that relate to how our forces treat (or mistreat) prisoners of war and other war detainees.
Archbishop O'Brien is right on this issue. However, most of the members of the Conservative Right will argue that he is wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment