Catholic Military Life

In this latest edition of Catholic Military Life--a podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA--Retired U.S. Air Force Chaplin Father (Col.) Robert Bruno, OFM, tells how he worked with the Air Force from 2009 to 2014 to preserve the free exercise of religion at the Air Force Academy as secularists waged an all-out campaign to suppress religious freedom and eliminate the phrase "so help me God" from the cadet honor pledge. Thanks to a new program Father Bruno helped launch, the right to the freedom of religion is alive and well at the Air Force Academy!

In the latest edition of "Catholic Military Life"--a podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA--Pat Hayes tells the fascinating story of a Redemptorist Catholic priest who served on the confederate side during the American Civil War. Father James Sheeran, C.Ss.R., was chaplain to the 14th Louisiana Regiment of the Confederacy. With historic confederate monuments now coming down in New Orleans, the topic is particularly timely. Irish-born Sheeran (1817-1881) was one of only a few dozen Catholic chaplains commissioned for the Confederacy and one of only two who kept a journal. Mr. Hayes has now edited and published Father Sheeran's journal in a new volume, called "The Civil War Diary of Father James Sheeran." (Catholic University Press of America, 2016.) Highlighting his exploits from August 1, 1862 through April 24, 1865, the journal tells of all the major events of his life in abundant detail: on the field of major battles, in the hospitals, and among Catholics and Protestants whom he encount

From jumping out of airplanes to witnessing a resurgence of Catholic faith in Europe, Auxiliary Bishop F. Richard Spencer shares his experiences as both a former U.S. Army Chaplain and the Episcopal Vicar of Europe and Asia. Bishop Spencer describes his sense of closeness to heaven while in midair free fall, his encounters with roadside bombs in Iraq, and contrary to reports of Europeans abandoning the Catholic faith in waves of secularism, his witness to a return to the church by many, particularly since the pontificate of Pope Francis. Bishop Spencer shares insights from a chapter he wrote for a new book called "Prayer in the Catholic Tradition" edited by Robert J. Wicks(Franciscan Media, 2016). The chapter, entitled "Military Postures in Prayer: Moments of Spiritual Intimacy," explores specific ways of praying in the context of Catholic Military Life.

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, chats about a wide range of issues confronting Catholics in the Military, including their freedom to exercise their faith, religious education, the priest shortage, and his reflections on nine (9) years at the helm of the only Catholic archdiocese responsible for the pastoral care of those who serve our nation in uniform, veterans in the nation's VA Medical Centers, and civilians serving the U.S. Government beyond U.S. borders.