Catholic Priest becomes a General in the Air Force

 

Serving Church, Country ‘An Honor,’ Says Priest Promoted To General In Air Force Chaplain Corps

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (OSV News) — At Blessed Sacrament Parish in Tallahassee, Father Peter Zalewski is a busy and beloved pastor, tending to the activities of his church community and the local Catholic school, the largest primary school in the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese.

But the pastor also serves in the Air Force Chaplain Corps, and with his Dec. 14 promotion to a one-star, or brigadier, general, he now holds the highest rank in the military of any Catholic priest.

On his one day off a week, he’ll be tending to meetings at the Pentagon or elsewhere in Washington, because he now serves as the primary adviser to the chief of the National Guard Bureau on religious, ethical and morale issues.

As a general, Father Zalewski will provide guidance and programs directing National Guard chaplain personnel and supporting Army and Air Guardsmen.

The Dec. 14 promotion ceremony at the Florida National Guard Headquarters in St. Augustine was the culmination of Father Zalewski’s nearly 40-year life in the military, which began in 1984 as a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In the early 1990s, he deployed in major military operations, including serving as an intelligence officer in Operation Desert Storm in the first Gulf War. He was following in the footsteps of his father, who served two tours in Vietnam, but he also pursued a military career with encouragement of his mother, who helped him appreciate the meaning of serving the Armed Forces.

The Florida native eventually heard the call to pursue the priesthood instead of Air Force pilot training, so in 1992 he became a seminarian for the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. He also became an Air Force chaplain candidate.

At his promotion ceremony, Father Zalewski thanked his parishioners at Blessed Sacrament, as well as St. Dominic in Panama City, Florida, where he was previously pastor, for always supporting his dual responsibilities.

“Thank you for your support,” he said. “We have to protect those who protect us. So, thank you for allowing me to do that. That means a lot to me.”

Father Zalewski’s remarks were reported by Catholic Extension in an article on its website, www.catholicextension.org.

The priest’s connection to the Chicago-based organization is twofold. He serves on its mission committee, which helps Catholic Extension increase its impact and awareness around the country. He also has involved his parish in raising financial support for various Extension initiatives over the years.

But the priest also was a beneficiary of Extension’s funding of seminary education when he was in formation to be ordained for the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese.

Each year, Catholic Extension supports 400 seminarians on their path to the priesthood by providing scholarships that help struggling dioceses pay for seminarian tuition as well as room and board.

After his ordination in 1997, Father Zalewski began serving as a parish priest in his diocese and as a military reserve chaplain at bases in the Florida Panhandle. He would eventually be deployed again in 2008 as a “wing chaplain” to Al-Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, serving military personnel supporting U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“He knows that the many sacrifices of our service members have created a toll — physical, mental and spiritual,” Catholic Extension said. “Father Zalewski recalls his visits to military bases over these past years where he would encounter young soldiers wearing prosthetics, reminding him of what they gave on the battlefield.

“More troublesome, still, are the wounds that are not visible. Father Zalewski laments that despite many efforts within the services, suicides among military personnel are not decreasing and more needs to be done to stem this tide.”

Father Zalewski said, “It’s been an honor to serve my country in the military, and an honor to serve the Catholic Church in America through Catholic Extension’s mission committee. I see that many of our service members come from rural communities — so Extension is a direct contributor to their spiritual well-being and strength.”

Roughly a quarter of all active-duty military personnel are Catholic, Extension noted, but “as a general, he will serve people regardless of their religious affiliation. … His job will be to ensure that these young, self-sacrificing men and women, who have given so much to our country, have the spiritual care they need.”

U.S. House ends some military policies that promote abortion and more

 

House passes amendments ending military spending on abortion travel, transgender surgeries

By Peter Pinedo

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 13, 2023 / 20:10 pm

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Thursday evening mandating the military stop its programs paying for abortion travel and transgender surgeries for service members.  

Under a policy laid out by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the military has been granting paid leave and subsidizing service members’ travel to obtain abortions. Transgender and gender-identity treatments and surgeries also have been subsidized by the military under the Biden administration. 

Two amendments passed by the House Thursday evening would undo those military policies.

The amendment overturning the military’s abortion program, filed by Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas, passed in a 221-213 vote. The amendment passed in an almost party-line vote, with two Republicans voting against it and one Democrat voting in favor.

The amendment ending the military’s transgender surgeries program was filed by Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana and passed in a 221-211 vote. One Republican voted against this amendment and one Democrat voted in favor.

The NDAA is an annual must-pass spending package that sets the military’s budget for the next fiscal year. Both the House and Senate advance their own versions of the package, which must be reconciled with each other and then signed by the president.

Two military chaplains who gave their all in war; on path to Sainthood

Portraits of Saints

Memorial Day 

Thank You for Your Sacrifice.

Father Emil J. Kapaun
Servant of God
1916-1951
Fr. Kapaun was born in Kansas, to a farming family. He was ordained a priest in 1940, and entered the U.S. Army Chaplain Corp. in 1944, serving soldiers during WWII and the Korean war in 1950. Known as a legend for his care of the wounded, valor and steadfast faith, Fr. Kapaun was the recipient of the Bronze Star, the Distinguished Service Cross, and posthumously, the Medal of Honor. Fr. Kapaun died in a Korean POW camp in 1951.

https://www.portraitsofsaints.com/…/all/all-images-fr-kapaun

Fr. Vincent Robert Capodanno
Servant of God
1929-1967
Fr. Capodanno was born into a large Italian family in Staten Island, NY. In 1958, he was ordained a Maryknoll priest and served in Taiwan. He joined the Navy Chaplain Corps in 1965, to serve the Marines in Vietnam. The soldiers nicknamed him the “Grunt Priest” because he had the reputation for always being there, day and night and taking care of his Marines. He died ministering to a wounded soldier in the heat of battle. Posthumously receiving the Medal of Honor, Navy Bronze Star, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Silver Star and the Purple Heart. The USS Capodanno Navy ship was the first ship to receive a Papal Blessing and many military Chapels are named after him.

Two new Bishops for the Military Services USA

Bishops-Elect Muhm (left) and Coffey - AMS photos

Pope Francis Names Two New Auxiliary Bishops for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, (AMS)

Fathers William (Bill) Muhm, CAPT, CHC, USN (Ret.), and Joseph L. Coffey, CAPT (Sel), CHC, USN, to be ordained bishops by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio on March 25

January 22, 2019 16:34ZENIT StaffCatholic Church

The Holy See announced January 22, 2019, that Pope Francis has named two new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, (AMS). His Holiness elected Father William (Bill) Muhm, Captain, Navy Chaplain Corps, titular Bishop-elect of Capsus, and Father Joseph L. Coffey, Captain (Select), Navy Chaplain Corps, titular Bishop-elect of Arsacalitan.

Fathers Muhm and Coffey will replace Auxiliary Bishops Richard B. Higgins, who is retiring this year, and Robert J. Coyle, who was transferred last year as an Auxiliary to the diocese of Rockville Centre, NY. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, will ordain the two priests bishops in a solemn Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Monday, March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.

Commenting on the appointments, Archbishop Broglio said: “The Bishop of Rome has once again looked with pastoral solicitude on the global Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and recognized the need to assure adequate care of the 1.8 million faithful entrusted to her.  I am delighted that both candidates have accepted to serve in a new way.  They bring vast experience and deep pastoral solicitude to their new role.”

Father Muhm said: “I’m greatly honored and humbled to be chosen by our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Father to be a bishop of the Universal Church and an auxiliary bishop of the AMS, which provides Catholic ministry and spiritual services to VERY important Americans: service members, members of their families, cadets and midshipmen, civilians stationed overseas, and veterans at VA Hospitals.”

Father Coffey said: “I am humbled and honored to have been chosen by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to assist Archbishop Broglio in his duties as the chief shepherd for the AMS. I am extremely grateful to my three shepherds from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Justin Cardinal Rigali, and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who have given me the necessary permission to serve on active duty in the US Navy Chaplain Corps for these last 17 years.”

Here follows additional background information on the two bishops-elect.

Bishop-Elect William (Bill) Muhm

Bishop-Elect William (Bill) Muhm, son of the late James and Anne Muhm, was born in Billings, MT, in 1957 and raised in Denver, CO.  He earned a Bachelor of Science degree (B.S.) in Business Administration from Colorado State University in 1980.  He attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, RI, and was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy Supply Corps in July 1981.  After graduating from Navy Supply Corps School, he served aboard USS BELLEAU WOOD (LHA-3), making two Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployments, and an assignment to the Naval Air Engineering Station in Lakehurst, NJ.  After release from active duty, he worked as an accountant. From 1986-1989, he also served as a Navy Reserve Supply Corps Officer.

In 1989, Father Muhm entered the minor seminary for the Archdiocese of New York, under the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program (CSP), a vocations partnership between the AMS and participating U.S. dioceses and religious communities. He graduated from St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers, NY, and was ordained a priest in 1995 by John Cardinal O’Connor.  Father Muhm served in the Archdiocese of New York at parishes in Ossining and Staten Island.  From 1996 to 1998, he served as a Navy Reserve Chaplain with Fleet Hospital 22.

In 1998, Father Muhm returned to active duty as a Navy chaplain. His assignments included Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan; USS WASP (LHD-1), making an extended post-9/11 deployment in the Arabian Sea; postgraduate studies at Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, CA; Training Support Center Great Lakes, IL; 1^st Marine Division, deploying to Anbar Province, Iraq; U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD; USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD-6)/CTF-76, homeported in Sasebo, Japan; 2nd Marine Logistics Group, Camp Lejeune, NC; and II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune.  Father Muhm retired from the Navy on May 1, 2018.

Bishop-Elect Joseph L. Coffey

Bishop-elect Joseph L. Coffey, son of the late Dr. William F. X Coffey, M.D., and Roseanita Schubert Coffey was born in Rochester, MN, on May 31, 1960. He is the fifth of nine children and the proud uncle of 46 nieces and nephews and 12 great nieces and nephews. He was raised in Philadelphia and is a life-long fan of all the Philly sports teams.

Father Coffey graduated from La Salle University in 1982 with a double major in English/French which included a year of study at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. After college, Father Coffey worked as a grade school teacher, a ski instructor in Switzerland, and in the automobile industry in Germany and Belgium for five years.

Heeding a call to the priesthood, he attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, and graduated with a Master of Divinity degree (MDiv) and was ordained in 1996 by Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua. He earned a Master of Arts (MA) in Moral Theology, also from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 2000.

While still in seminary, Father Coffey was given permission by Cardinal Bevilacqua to enter the U.S. Navy Chaplain Candidate Program in May of 1992 with the rank of Ensign. He stayed in the Navy Reserve for the next nine years.

Following ordination in 1996, Father Coffey was assigned as an Associate Pastor to St. Katherine of Siena parish in Philadelphia, PA. After five years in parish ministry, he was given permission by Cardinal Bevilacqua for full-time active duty as a Navy Chaplain in September of 2001.

Chaplain Coffey’s duty assignments have included: Combat Assault Battalion, Okinawa,Japan; Division Officer and Command Chaplain onboard  USS GEORGE WASHINGTON(CVN 73), homeported  in Norfolk, VA, with a 6 month deployment to the ArabianGulf; Command Chaplain at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center, Cape May, NJ; MarineAir Group 39, Camp Pendleton, CA, an assignment that included a seven-month month deployment to Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Provence, Afghanistan; U.S. Navy Recruiting Command, St. Louis, MO; Command Chaplain on USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76), homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, with a six-month deployment to the South Pacific Ocean; and his current assignment is Assistant Chief of Staff for Religious Ministry, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, CA.

VP Mike Pence addresses the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast; also a LA Catholic Priest hailed as WW2 hero

What I saw at the Catholic Prayer Breakfast gives me hope for this country

Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, OP | Jun 07, 2017

AP Photo | Jacquelyn Martin

   

Vice President Pence and others reminded us that a common love of God can bring us together.

While en route to Tuesday morning’s National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, I wondered with droopy-eyed concern why prayer lunches or prayer suppers have never become popular. Does dawn really present itself as an ideal time for social gatherings, however prayerful in nature? My musings were selfish, of course; I longed that senseless longing for another 15 minutes of sleep.
My self-concern was chastened, however, when I arrived at the venue. At 6:30 in the morning, the hotel ballroom was already a hive of activity as a thousand people excitedly said their hellos, took pictures, and found their seats. The vibe was infectious. The room was electric as clergy, religious, and laity from around the country assembled to pray for the nation and to celebrate the life of the Catholic Church in America.
The breakfast’s organizers describe the annual event as one “response to St. John Paul II’s call for a New Evangelization.” Accordingly, speakers are chosen each year to highlight the vibrancy of the Church’s life in the U.S. Their task is to tell the stories of Christian witness—personal and otherwise—often neglected by the national media. This year’s speakers fulfilled their appointed roles. After a communal recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, each spoke inspiringly of what Christian faith and virtue provide to the common life of the nation.
First, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services reminded listeners that faith and citizenship are not opposing virtues. Christian faith is naturally oriented to service of neighbor, he explained. Specifically, faith and charity inform the cardinal virtues to orient the believer toward sacrifice for one’s community. Thus does faith assist the molding of a people into a nation.
To illustrate his point, Archbishop Broglio recalled the witness of Fr. Verbis Lafleur, an American military chaplain during the Second World War. Reared on the Cajun prairies of south Louisiana, Fr. Lafleur was ordained a priest in 1938. By 1941, he was an enlisted chaplain assigned to Clark Field in the Philippines, arriving at his assignment just days before the Japanese bombardment of December 8. After a year of evading the Japanese army, Fr. Lafleur’s company fell into enemy hands. For the next two and a half years, the Cajun priest served his flock as a POW. In 1944, while en route to Japan, Fr. Lafleur’s prisoner ship was accidentally torpedoed by the U.S. Navy. The priest refused to leave the ship’s hold until he helped every soldier to safety. Tragically, the ship sank before Fr. Lafleur could emerge with the last of his soldier-sheep. Archbishop Broglio concluded that Fr. Lafleur’s life and death witness iconically to the way in which faith has consistently worked to perfect the American character.
Second on the program was Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart. She stole the show. Largely unknown by everyone in the room (but not to regular readers of Aleteia!), Mother Olga spoke movingly of her Christian upbringing in Iraq. Against difficult odds, she founded a community of women to care for the poor, the first religious community to be founded in Iraq in more than 700 years. As a religious, then Sr. Olga spent seven years serving in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison, her principal task being to bury the dead. In 2001, Sr. Olga immigrated to the U.S. in order to study theology and learn English. Settling in Boston, she discovered a new home and planted deep roots, leading her to become an American citizen in 2007. Shortly afterward, Cardinal O’Malley requested that she found a new religious community in New England. Now Mother Olga, this diminutive Iraqi religious—she was dwarfed by the podium at which she stood—testified in her very person that both the Church and America remain a welcoming home for the immigrant. As Mother Olga concluded her remarks by singing alone and a capella “This Is My Song, O God of All the Nations”—the sweet American text intoned in an Arabic accent—she exemplified what is best about America—and the Church. Though little known today, “Mother Olga” is a name we’ll be hearing more in the future.  
Lastly, Vice President Mike Pence addressed the breakfast, which he described as a type of “homecoming.” The vice president spoke glowingly of his south Indiana childhood as part of a “midsize Catholic family,” his euphemism for an Irish family of six children. He recalled how he attended Catholic school and served Mass with his brothers. Though the vice president acknowledged that his “faith journey” has led him away from the Church—the statement deflated the room—he hailed Catholic institutions, particularly schools and hospitals, for the role that they have played in building up American society. These institutions, he said, are “woven into the fabric of America.” As such, they have left an “indelible mark on the American spirit,” and the people who serve them are “a force for good in our communities.” For this reason, the vice president continued, the Trump administration has taken an aggressive stand to defend religious liberty, arguing that the price of participation in American public life should not be the violation of conscience. The vice president ended his remarks with an appeal to American Catholics to continue to pray and to witness to the truth of the Gospel in their communities.
At a time when our national life is divided along ideological lines, the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast serves to remind us that a common love for God and country remains a powerful unifier for a diverse citizenry. God is one, and so is his Church, and the unity to which both draw believers can serve as a leaven for the unity of the nation.
Archbishop Broglio, Mother Olga, and Vice President Pence each detailed a facet of this mystery early Tuesday morning. May their witness be a clarion call to Catholics and their compatriots to greater faith and unity in the search for peace.

As Veteran's Day nears, we remember our Catholic Military Chaplains

Honoring our Military Chaplains

 

Father Emil Kapuan, who served as a U.S. Army chaplain during the Korean War, celebrates Mass in the field. Fr. Kapuan later died in a Korean P.O.W. camp and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery there. U.S. Government photo.

Servants of Church and Country

Each year on November 11, we observe Veterans Day and remember all those who have served our country in times of war. Among those veterans are our military chaplains.Five military chaplains, all of them Catholics,  have received the Medal of Honor since the Civil War. Two of them are on the path to sainthood as their stories of bravery have touched people the world over. Their example inspires a new generation of men to be chaplains as well.
Four Catholic military chaplains have also been recognized for bravery in the line of duty with United States Navy ships named in their honor.
In 2013, the USCCB Media Blog featured a series of posts about past, current and future chaplains, plus the extraordinary history of Catholics priests as Medal of Honor recipients.  Links to the blog posts are below.
Of Medal of Honor Winners and Saints 
About SaintsCriteria to Award the Medal of Honor
Called from Underwater
Following Saints and Heroes
Ready for a Changing Chaplain Corps

The annual observance of Veterans Day in the United States on November 11th  has it roots in the the armistice that ended World War I hostilities in 1918. The armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.  President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed thereafter that November 11 be observed as "Armistice Day."  In 1954, Congress passed legislation that  renamed the federal holiday "Veterans Day," in recognition of the service of veterans of all U.S. Wars.

A must see video; I'm coming home!!!

God Bless the men and women of the armed forces and their families:




http://damn.com/p/this-is-the-most-beautiful-thing-you-will-ever-see/

Government shutdown means no religious services allowed

Some military religious services in jeopardy because of government shutdown

                 

 

By Bruce Alpert, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune  

on October 03, 2013

 

 

WASHINGTON -- Weekend religious services at some military facilities are in jeopardy because non-active duty chaplains are on furlough, thanks to the partial government shutdown.
Unless there is last-minute resolution of the bitter partisan dispute over a temporary spending bill to reopen shuttered government offices, services normally conducted by non-active-duty ministers will be canceled.
Active-duty ministers remain on duty, but contract and non-active-duty ministers are among the 800,000 federal employees furloughed by the partial government shutdown that began Tuesday.
"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 (non-active duty minister) or contract priest, they should consider it canceled," wrote John Schlageter, general counsel for the Archdiocese for the Military Services. "Likewise, a Marine who attends Sunday Mass at the Quantico Chapel will have to go elsewhere this weekend."
Schlageter said there's a big shortage of Catholic chaplains, which has led the government to hire priests with Department of Defense contracts. He said there are 234 contract priests and non-active duty priests who are not able to work until the furlough is lifted.
"With the government shutdown, (non-active duty ministers) and contract priests who minister to Catholics on military bases worldwide are not permitted to work -- not even to volunteer," Schlageter said.

Army chaplains told not to read letter from their Archbishop protesting HHS last Sunday

The Corner

 Army Silenced Chaplains Last Sunday

By Kathryn Jean Lopez

February 3, 2012

In Catholic churches across the country, parishioners were read letters from the pulpit this weekend from bishops in their diocese about the mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services giving Catholics a year before they’ll be required to start violating their consciences on insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs. But not in the Army.

A statement released this afternoon — which happens to be the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Dorchester, on which four chaplains lost their lives – from the Archdiocese for Military Services explains:

On Thursday, January 26, Archbishop Broglio emailed a pastoral letter to Catholic military chaplains with instructions that it be read from the pulpit at Sunday Masses the following weekend in all military chapels. The letter calls on Catholics to resist the policy initiative, recently affirmed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, for federally mandated health insurance covering sterilization, abortifacients and contraception, because it represents a violation of the freedom of religion recognized by the U.S. Constitution.

The Army’s Office of the Chief of Chaplains subsequently sent an email to senior chaplains advising them that the Archbishop’s letter was not coordinated with that office and asked that it not be read from the pulpit. The Chief’s office directed that the letter was to be mentioned in the Mass announcements and distributed in printed form in the back of the chapel.

Archbishop Broglio and the Archdiocese stand firm in the belief, based on legal precedent, that such a directive from the Army constituted a violation of his Constitutionally-protected right of free speech and the free exercise of religion, as well as those same rights of all military chaplains and their congregants.

Following a discussion between Archbishop Broglio and the Secretary of the Army, The Honorable John McHugh, it was agreed that it was a mistake to stop the reading of the Archbishop’s letter. Additionally, the line: “We cannot — we will not — comply with this unjust law” was removed by Archbishop Broglio at the suggestion of Secretary McHugh over the concern that it could potentially be misunderstood as a call to civil disobedience.

The AMS did not receive any objections to the reading of Archbishop Broglio’s statement from the other branches of service.

So not only were chaplains told not to read the letter, but an Obama administration official edited a pastoral letter . . . with church buy-in?

Didn’t people flee across an ocean-sized pond to be free of this kind of thing?

UPDATE: Army spokesman confirms “the Army asked that the letter not be read from the pulpit.”