With active-duty chaplains in short supply, the U.S. Navy has recruited a reservist to serve as 3rd Battalion chaplain at the U.S. Naval Academy. Father Paul Kostka, CHC, LT, USN, came to Annapolis from Denver, CO, in October 2020 to begin a one-year assignment. Before his tour at the Naval Academy, Father Kostka served in support of the 3rd Marine Expedition at the Navy Reserve Center in Denver, where he was also a chaplain at the University of Denver. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Kostka, a member of the religious congregation, Servants of Christ Jesus, shares his experiences providing pastoral care to the midshipmen.

Father Paul Kostka - U.S. Naval Academy

Since 2004, the Knights of Columbus have funded publication of "Armed with the Faith," a Catholic prayerbook specifically for Catholics in the U.S. Military. The pocket-size, water-resistant prayerbook (shown on the desk in the photo) is designed for use anywhere those who serve may find themselves, whether in the relative safety of a home base or port, or in the field or high seas of battle. "Armed with the Faith" has proven to be so popular all available copies have been distributed and the prayerbook is currently out of stock. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), Father Daniel R. Sweeney, S.J., a U.S. Air Force chaplain colonel and the prayerbook's editor, reveals a new edition will soon go to press and shares when "Armed with the Faith" will once again be available to Catholics in uniform.

Father Daniel R. Sweeney, SJ, Prayerbook Editor

COVID-19 has taken a steep toll on the Catholic War Veterans (CWV) of the USA and its Auxiliary. Between March 2020 and July 2021, the veteran service organization lost more than 300 of its eight-thousand members at a time when membership, once boasting 50,000, was already in steady decline. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, CWV National Commander David Crum considers the future of the organization founded in 1935 and chartered by Congress.

David Crum Of CWA

The First Amendment right to free exercise of religion is alive and well in the U.S. Military despite ongoing cases and controversies. That's the encouraging assessment of Mr. Daniel Blomberg, Esq., Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.  He elaborates in this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

Becket Foundation Attorney Daniel Bloomberg On Religious Freedom In The Military

On Sept. 7, 2021, at 6:30 p.m., Archbishop Timothy Broglio will celebrate the annual Memorial Mass for Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM, in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, in Washington, D.C. EWTN will televise the Mass live across North America. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Retired Admiral P. Steve Stanley, Chairman of the Father Capodanno Guild, and Retired U.S. Marine Sergeant Major Henry Hernandez, who served with Father Capodanno, share why they believe "the Grunt Padre" should be canonized in the Catholic Chruch.

Vice Adm. P. Stephen Stanley & Sgt. Maj. Henry Hernandez, USMC (Ret), on Father Capodanno Mass

The televised images of the U.S. Military airlift of refugees from Afghanistan are strangely familiar to Catholic former Congressman Anh (Joseph) Cao of Louisiana. When he was a boy of only eight, he fled his native Vietnam to start life anew without parents in America, went on to graduate from Baylor University with a degree in physics and spent six years as a Jesuit seminarian before becoming a lawyer and the first Vietnamese American ever elected to Congress. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA,  former Congressman Cao shares his thoughts on the quandary now facing Afghan refugees.

Congressman Ahn Joseph Cao On Afghan Refugees

The Aug. 26, 2021 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport hit close to home for Father Daniel Lorimer, a priest of the Diocese of Wichita, KS, and former U.S. Army chaplain. From February to October 2014, Father Lorimer served in Afghanistan, hopscotching by helicopter between Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to bring the sacraments to U.S. servicemen and women on the front lines. In the Aug. 30 edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Lorimer shares his experiences and thoughts on the 20-year war's violent end.

Father Dan Lorimer On Afghanistan

The Knights of Columbus and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), will resume their annual Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage in May of 2022 following a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The dates for the upcoming Pilgrimage are May 10-16, 2022. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the AMS, Colonel Chuck Gallina, USMC (Ret.), explains who qualifies for the all-expenses paid trip to the famous Grotto and its healing spring waters.

Col. Chuck Gallina On Warriors To Lourdes 2022

The homecoming of Father Emil Kapaun, Servant of God, to the Diocese of Wichita, KS, last month was greeted with the hero's welcome he deserved, 70 years after his death in a North Korean Prisoner-of-War Camp. Auxiliary Bishop F. Richard Spencer of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), was among those present and shares his experience in this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the AMS.

Bishop F. Richard Spencer On Father Kapaun Homecoming

Father Daniel J. Swartz, CHC, LT, USN, was with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at the Kabul airport on Aug. 26 when a suicide bomber attacked, killing 13 American military members and many civilians who were trying to flee Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Swartz tells his story.

Father Daniel Swartz On Afghanistan Evacuation

Father Richard Erikson, Ch, Brig Gen, USAF (Ret), recently teamed up with Country and Western singer/songwriter Jay Clementi to compose a song about U.S. Military chaplains. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Erikson joins us to listen to the song, "Born to Bless the Fallen," and tell how the song came about.

Father Richard Erikson on "Born To Bless The Fallen"

CATHOLIC MILITARY LIFE is a podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS). The AMS was established as an independent archdiocese by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1985 as the only Catholic jurisdiction responsible for endorsing and granting faculties for priests to serve as chaplains in the U.S. military and VA Medical Centers. AMS-endorsed priests serve at more than 220 U.S. military installations in 29 countries, making the AMS the nation's only global archdiocese. AMS-endorsed chaplains also serve at 153 VA Medical Centers throughout the U.S. The AMS service population also includes American Catholic civilians working for the federal government in 134 countries, but currently, due to limited resources, the AMS cannot adequately serve this population. Worldwide, an estimated 1.8 million Catholics depend on the AMS to meet their spiritual and sacramental needs. For more information on the Archdiocese for the Military Services, visit www.milarch.org, the only official website for Catholics in the U.S. Military. For information on the Cause of Father Vincent Capodanno, MM, visit www.capodannoguild.org.