Chaplains

In order to become a chaplain there are a few requirements one must fulfill. And with the recent “controversy” surrounding these Chaplains being placed on leave without pay and whatnot I thought there needed to be some clarification. Some of the more right-wing disengenuous folks are trying to push this narrative that Chaplains are being forced out of the military and leaving service members without any ‘spiritual support’.

What I find interesting is that the same people bitching about it are the same people saying that I’m ‘wormfood’ if I die (remember a Christian congressman said it – not an atheist or a humanist) and said I don’t deserve a Humanist Chaplain. So while it’s okay for me to be left out in the cold when I’m in need of talking to someone privately about any issues I may be having (because I’m an atheist) it’s not okay for the rest of the military that are believers. I guess that ‘no religious test’ thing in the Constitution doesn’t matter much to these folks. But what’s new?

So here’s the controversy:

All these right-wing morons (Glenn Beck and Co) are complaining about how Catholic Priests will get arrested for having Mass. People are blaming the Obama Administration for going after the Catholic faith and not giving equal support to the Catholics serving in the military.

and here’s the skinny:

All these Catholic Priests (that are Civilians being paid by the Department of Defense – and therefore are not even actually Chaplains) are not being paid – just like everyone else who is furloughed. They can show up to Mass and give a service if they so desire. But they won’t be PAID! It all boils down to the mighty dollar…which may not be so mighty after this Thursday – but that’s another issue entirely.

Basically, it’s a headline grabbing lie

Oh, and it’s still a big contentious issue for Humanists to have a Chaplain. I’ve contemplated writing a diatribe on that. Perhaps sometime in the short future.