Chaplain's Evolving Role in Peace and Humanitarian Relief Operations

摘要

What image comes to mind when you think of a military chaplain. A priest on a beachhead administering last rites to gravely wounded troops. A minister in a foxhole comforting and praying with a dying soldier. As Captain Paul McLaughlin reveals in this Peaceworks report, the role of the chaplain in todays military goes far beyond such strictly personal religious duties. In fact, as Captain McLaughlin a Catholic priest in the United States Navy details in the following pages, the chaplaincy has changed dramatically, just as the nature of the militarys mission in todays conflicts has similarly changed. While chaplains of various denominations will always be responsible for the traditional religious duties in the military unit, Captain McLaughlin reveals a new role for the chaplain, serving as an invaluable liaison between military and nonmilitary actors in peace and humanitarian relief operations.