The Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services has said it is
“astounded” at a U.S. Army Reserve training brief that listed Catholics
alongside “violent and extremist” groups.
“The archdiocese calls upon the Department of Defense to review these
materials and to ensure that taxpayer funds are never again used to
present blatantly anti-religious material to the men and women in
uniform,” the archdiocese said April 4.
In its statement, the archdiocese noted that an investigation and reply
from the Army Chief of Chaplains office said the training “appears to
have been an isolated incident not condoned by the Department of the
Army.”
The presentation, titled “Extremism & Extremist Organizations,”
discussed religious extremism in a presentation that covered militias,
neo-Nazis, Islamic extremism, terrorism and gangs.
One slide, titled “Religious Extremism,” listed Catholicism and
Evangelical Christianity along with groups including Al Qaida, Hamas and
the Ku Klux Klan.
The presentation described extremism as a “complex phenomenon” defined
by beliefs, attitudes or feelings “far removed from the 'ordinary.'” It
said religious extremism is not limited to any religion, ethnic group or
region.
“Every religion has some followers that believe that their beliefs,
customs and traditions are the only 'right way' and that all others are
practicing their faith the 'wrong way,' seeing and believing that their
faith/religion (is) superior to all others,” the slide said.
The presentation cited sources such as the Southern Poverty Law Center
and the Anti-Defamation League and some of its language appeared to be
taken from the website Wikipedia.
The Army removed the slide after complaints.
A U.S. Army spokesperson told the Washington Times that the
presentation was produced by an individual without the knowledge or
permission of anyone in the chain of command.
The person who created the presentation “was not a subject matter
expert and produced the material after conducting internet research,”
the spokesperson said.
The presentation also drew criticism from the Chaplain Alliance for
Religious Liberty, a non-denominational group of military chaplains..
The archdiocese said it and the Chaplain Alliance told the Army that it
“can and should take steps to prevent such incidents in the future.”
The Archdiocese for Military Services has endorsed priests at more than
220 U.S. military installations in 29 countries, serving an estimated
1.8 million Catholics worldwide.