Pastoral Care Towards the Freedom of Conscience and the Duty to Military Service

Abstract

In order to present the question of pastoral care in the army it is necessary to consider the very duty to military service. One has to consider also some possible bases of Christian conscience towards such a service. Some valuable statements which explain these questions can be found in the Scripture, in „Gaudium et Spes” (no 79) and in John Paul II's addresses.

The pastoral care in the army should on the one hand be a genuine pastoral care in which God's word will be proclaimed, and on the other it should respect the freedom of conscience of the persons who are in the army. To accomplish the above purposes there recently been reestablished the post of Field Ordinary Bishop in Poland. The post clearly defines the right of a field ordinary and army chaplains, the tasks of local bishops and parish priests within the frameworks of holding the cumulative office, and the rights of the faithful who belong to the Ordinary Bishop. The pastoral care in the Polish Army is developing, yet there is still a lot to do.