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COMMENTARY
My Personal Story as a Catholic Conscientious Objector
June 20 , 2017 | The Valley Catholic
By Tony Magliano
Internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist
As I was trying to discern what God wanted me to write about , I walked into my 16-year-old son ’ s bedroom to discover a military calendar hanging on the wall . It highlighted young men and women in combat fatigues , fighter jets , an aircraft carrier battle group and plenty of American flags .
I knew from personal experience and deep soulsearching that hidden behind this calendar of military glitter was centuries of death and destruction . And as I removed this calendar , I knew exactly what God wanted me to write on .
Many years ago as young man in my 20 ’ s I found myself in the midst of U . S . military basic combat training at Fort Dix , New Jersey .
While firing my M-16 weapon at life-like pop-up targets , it occurred to me the army was not training me to hit pop-up targets , but was training me to kill some poor guy like me in a far off country who got caught up in the propaganda of his own country ’ s war machine .
I came to realize this was all wrong . And I knew that in my desire to imitate the nonviolent Jesus , I could kill no one .
I spoke to my drill sergeant about these deep anti-war feelings I had and my desire to apply for conscientious objector status . He urged me to wait until I completed basic training and apply for CO status when I arrived at Fort Benjamin Harrison , Indianapolis for Advanced Individual Training .
At Fort Harrison I was being trained as a broadcaster for Armed Forces Radio in Germany . But that inviting future did not deter me . My broadcast instructors tried to convince me that the chances of my having to shoot someone from a radio station were
I came to realize this was all wrong . And I knew that in my desire to imitate the nonviolent Jesus , I could kill no one .
extremely remote . And although they were technically correct , I knew my role as a military journalist and radio disc jockey would be to boost the morale of those who would be pulling the triggers and dropping the bombs . And I knew that I could have nothing to do with this unholy enterprise .
In my appeal for discharge as a conscientious objector , I had to write a research paper stating my position from the perspective of Catholic teaching on war .
Unfortunately , since the Catholic Church for the last 1,700 years has not been a totally traditional peace church – renouncing all war – like the Amish , Mennonites and Church of the Brethren – it made my case much more difficult . However , since total active nonviolence is at least a part of Catholic doctrine , as clearly exemplified by the first 300 years of its history , I was able to make my case .
After undergoing cross examinations by a military officer and psychiatrist , being interviewed by three army chaplains , and having my appeal go up and down the chain of command several times , it was finally ascertained that I was a sincere conscientious objector , and I was granted an honorable discharge .
My experience in appealing for conscientious objector status was relatively painless . But many Christians have suffered harsh prison sentences like the late Catholic American Ben Salmon ( see : www . bensalmon . org ). And some COs have even been executed , like Austrian Blessed Franz Jagerstatter , rather than take the lives of others . ( see : www . franzjagerstatter . com )
For a deeply inspiring testimony of nonviolent Christian witness and heroic conscientious objection in the early Catholic Church , read the authentic ancient Roman trial of St . Maximilian ( www . catholic . org / saints / saint . php ? saint _ id = 5018 ).
Tony Magliano is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings . Tony can be reached at tmag @ zoominternet . net . Tune into Tony on Immaculate Heart Radio ’ s Bay Area Catholic , KSFB 1260 AM , June 24 at 3 p . m ., June 26 at 9 p . m ., and on-demand at IHRadio . com / bayareacatholic .
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Eucharist “ The Cornerstone of Evangelization ”
God is not dead but too often we treat him that way . It is unfortunate that the Eucharist , which our Catechism states is “ the sum and summary of our faith ” is being treated as less than that .
Vatican II did not diminish the importance of the Eucharist to the Catholic faith , but since the time of that Council , Mass attendance by Catholics has declined from approximately fifty percent to about twenty percent . If we wish to reverse that trend we must do a better job of conveying the message of the miracle of the Eucharist to those who do not find relevancy in attending Mass .
In order to restore the relevancy of the Eucharist to its rightful place as “ the Church ’ s entire spiritual wealth ” its importance must be communicated as such . It must be the cornerstone of our evangelization efforts . Vatican II focused on many other important matters , and in the greater attention to those matters , the Eucharist too frequently lost top billing .
If the hierarchy of the Church , along with the clergy and faithful , can again raise the Eucharist to the importance it deserves , Mass attendance will increase .
George Pfautsch
Letters to the Editor are always welcome . The deadline for the next edition is Friday , August 4 . The Valley Catholic does not publish in July . Please email letters to tvc . submissions @ dsj . org . Letters are subject to editing and will be published at the discretion of the editor .