Chaplains help troops make decisions in moral no man's land

Published: 2006-08-30

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In an era when terrorists mingle among civilians, U.S. troops often must make split-second decisions in a moral no man's land, juggling the protection of innocent civilians with the need for self-defense. If a missile sails out of a hospital filled with innocent patients, do you fire back? Do you shoot at a gunman using a child as a human shield after he starts firing at innocent civilians? When does the aggressive interrogation of a prisoner cross the line into torture? But the dilemmas do not stop after an action is taken, said Father Mark Reilly, a Navy chaplain who served with the Marine Corps in Iraq from mid-December to mid-May. "Then the question becomes: 'Did I do the right thing?'" said Father Reilly, a priest of the Diocese of Ogdensburg, N.Y., and currently a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve. In combat zones like Afghanistan and Iraq -- which the Bush administration sees as key battlefields in the war against terrorism -- such questions are daily life-and-death issues as U.S. forces face insurgents dressed as civilians. "The bad guys don't wear uniforms," said Father Reilly.

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