Conscientious objection still possible in all-volunteer U.S. military

Published: 2006-08-28

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Conscientious objection to fighting wars is still a possibility 33 years after the U.S. ended obligatory military service. But objectors in the all-volunteer U.S. armed forces have to be opposed to all wars and not just to a particular one such as Iraq. Even with volunteers, where the presumption is that someone enlisting is willing to fight, the law allows troops to change their minds for religious or philosophical reasons. One result has been that after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks activities picked up at the Catholic Peace Fellowship, which helps military personnel filing for conscientious-objector status or just wanting information about Catholic moral teachings on war. "Sept. 11 shaped what we have done since," said Holy Cross Father Michael Baxter, national secretary of the Catholic Peace Fellowship, based in South Bend, Ind. Through e-mails, telephone calls and personal contacts, the once-dormant Catholic group has actively aided about 60 people seeking conscientious-objector status since Sept. 11 and fielded more than 1,500 requests for information, said Father Baxter, also an assistant theology professor at the University of Notre Dame.

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