Religion and the Military

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services USA, told CBS’s Face the Nation that the U.S. war with Iran fails Catholic Just War criteria as a preemptive strike, calling it “hard to cast… as something that would be sponsored by the Lord,” criticizing explicitly Christian framing of the conflict and urging negotiations and an “off‑ramp.” He added that military conscientious‑objector rules allow refusal only to all war (not a specific war), that lower‑ranking service members generally cannot practically refuse orders unless an act is clearly immoral, and that chaplains are increasingly confronting moral injury among troops.