Bishop Overseeing Military Chaplains Says Prayer Ban is Causing a ‘Vocational Crisis’

Father Guy Chapdelaine, then-Chaplain General of the Canadian Armed Forces, greets a veteran at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Nov. 11, 2016. Art Babych/Shutterstock

The bishop in charge of overseeing Catholic military chaplains says some are feeling betrayed after a new directive was issued which bans prayer during official functions.

“I have heard from Catholic chaplains and other members of the Military Ordinariate who are experiencing frustration, a sense of betrayal, and even vocational crisis,” wrote Scott McCaig, bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Canada, in an Oct. 21 statement.

Bp. McCaig added there exists “significant concern” the new policy could undermine morale and spiritual resiliency for “scores” of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and their family.

It could also “significantly” diminish the “efficacy of chaplains, and even threaten the viability of the Royal Canadian Chaplains Service itself.”

The Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada is part of the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy (ICCMC). It is outside the military chain of command, but it is responsible for the selection of Catholic chaplains.

As a Catholic bishop and a member of the ICCMC, Bp. McCaig has a degree of technical authority over the Chaplain General, Brig.-Gen. Guy Belisle.

Bp. McCaig said it is “particularly unfortunate” the ICCMC was not consulted on the new directive, despite its core function of overseeing all the chaplains and its advisory role on spiritual and moral concerns.

New Directive

The Office of the Chaplain General released a directive on Oct. 11 which removes the ability of chaplains to conduct prayers during official military functions. The directive was put in place one month before Remembrance Day, which honours Canada’s fallen soldiers and veterans.

Liberal ministers have said that prayer has not been banned on that day, but chaplains, essentially, are not allowed to say a prayer if participating in an official function. Prayer has been replaced by “spiritual reflections,” which need to be “inclusive in nature, and respectful of the religious and spiritual diversity of Canada.”

The Chaplain General says the new directive is based on the 2015 Supreme Court opinion Mouvement laïque québécois v. Saguenay (City), which said prayer was not allowed at city council meetings in order to protect the neutrality of the state in regards to religion and beliefs.

Bp. McCaig notes in his statement that not favouring belief over unbelief appears reasonable, but he raises “unresolved” questions.

“It is not clear how the exclusion of any recourse to prayer or reference to God in public functions is not the favouring of non-belief over belief, or the use of government power to the detriment of religious believers,” he says.

Bp. McCaig notes that the Canadian Constitution recognizes the “supremacy of God,” that the Charter protects freedom of religion, and that the Canadian anthem also has religious content in both official languages.

“As silly as it seems, the strict application of the policy would mean that a chaplain singing the national anthem at a public function, or reading from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in a public reflection, could lead to disciplinary action against them,” said the bishop.

The Department of National Defence has told The Epoch Times that chaplains are not allowed to say “God” or “Heavenly Father” during public functions. The policy says chaplains can be disciplined up to removal from the service if they disobey.

“Such a scenario seems ludicrous, but it does demonstrate that serious interior contradictions exist, contradictions that will eventually need to be resolved,” added Bp. McCaig.

The bishop says it’s not clear how diversity can be served if chaplains are turned into “interchangeable motivational speakers.”

Proposal

As a way forward, the bishop has not recommended the revision of the current policy, but instead suggested a separate policy be established to allow chaplains to conduct voluntary prayers on the margins of official events.

“These voluntary services would need to be encouraged or guaranteed with some kind of directive being promulgated by those in authority,” he said.

The Epoch Times asked Bp. McCaig why he has not called for the reversal of the policy, given how he assesses its effects.

“A solution must be found that respects the conscience rights of all serving members— religious and non-religious alike,” he wrote in an email. “The solution I proposed may not be the only way forward, and there may well be better ways, but it is important to begin a wider dialogue.”

The bishop added he has the responsibility to defend the religious conscience rights of Catholics in the military, as challenges arise in society from secularization and “emerging ideologies.”

“Respecting individual freedoms while maintaining social friendship and solidarity is not easy, but too much is at stake not to succeed.”

‘Gone Rogue’

One military chaplain, given the pseudonym Mark to protect him from reprisals, says the Office of the Chaplain General has “gone rogue” with its new directive, crafted without consulting the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy (ICCMC).

He says, in theory, there should be a close relationship between the Chaplain General and the ICCMC, but it’s now “evident the working relationship has dissolved.”

“I believe they found the bishop a hinderance to pushing their agenda,” says chaplain Mark.

He says the Office of the Chaplain General has begun to understand itself as its own independent denomination. However, its decisions are supposed to come from consultations with the ICCMC, he says.

“The Chaplain General is the steward of traditions, not a creator of an alternate religion,” says chaplain Mark.

“What it boils down to is the Chaplain General’s office has gone rogue.”

Another chaplain speaking to The Epoch Times on the condition of anonymity says the new directive appears to be “cooked up behind closed doors.”

The chaplain says the directive claims to be about “inclusion, but they excluded a lot of key players in the decision making.”

“The interest of one group over all others is considered, I may say abused, to push a political agenda.”

He called the solution proposed by Bp. McCaig “weak,” but said an attempt at finding a solution is “encouraging.”

‘Coming for the Padres’

Attorney Catherine Christensen of Valour Law, who represents soldiers suing the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for abuse of power with the COVID-19 vaccination mandate, says what’s happening now is a result of the chaplaincy not standing up to that policy.

“What happens when you don’t stand up? They come for you next,” says Ms. Christensen “A lot of people are bitter over how the Chaplain Service didn’t defend their religious rights in the CAF.”

“Now the CAF comes for the padres,” she said, using the term used for chaplains in the ranks.

The Conservative Party has attempted to conduct a House of Commons committee study on the new directive, but all other parties rejected it on Oct. 24.

“Common-sense Conservatives will fight this woke ideological agenda, and ensure public prayers are led at Remembrance Day ceremonies across the country,” wrote MP Blake Richards in a statement after his motion was defeated in the Veterans Affairs committee.

MPs who voted down the motion protested it was being tabled during a committee meeting with women veterans sharing their experiences.

“I find this unacceptable,” said Bloc Québécois MP Luc Désilets. “I have a lot of respect for chaplains, but I’m going to vote against the motion because it’s not related to Veterans Affairs—the Canadian Armed Forces are responsible.”

The Epoch Times has yet to hear back from the Office of the Chaplain General on specific questions related to the new directive.