Fargo's vicar general hopes to return to service as chaplain in Iraq

Published: 2008-02-11

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Msgr. Brian Donahue, vicar general of the Diocese of Fargo, N.D., and pastor of two parishes in the diocese, wants to do a second tour of duty as a military chaplain in Iraq. To do so, however, he is going to have to "unretire," transferring out of the retired reserves to the individual ready reserves. In 2007 he retired from the Army National Guard after 20 years of service, which included active duty during the Persian Gulf War and a previous stint in Iraq. Msgr. Donahue, 52, has put in the paperwork and is waiting to undergo fitness tests with the military. He'll probably know the Army's answer by Easter. But given the severe shortage of Catholic chaplains in Iraq, it's likely the priest will be able to serve once more. The Army has only 92 Catholic chaplains. Msgr. Donahue, who was ordained in 1983, is one of 86 active priests in the Fargo Diocese, which covers the eastern half of North Dakota and has a Catholic population of about 86,000.

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