Update at the end
They Want to Save Money and Discrimination is the Way to Go
Catholic Masses at San Diego-area Navy bases have ended because the Navy, claims they want to save money, and won’t renew its contracts with Catholic priests. They don’t have enough Catholic chaplains on active duty to fill the void so they contract for the rest. They will no longer contract for them.
Protestant services on bases, which are led by active-duty chaplains, will continue, said Brian O’Rourke, a Navy Region Southwest spokesman.
“The Navy’s religious ministries priority is reaching and ministering to our largest demographic — active duty Sailors and Marines in the 18-25-year-old range,” O’Rourke wrote in an email. “To meet that mission, the Navy has had to make the difficult decision to discontinue most contracted ministry services.”
Vice Adm. Yancey Lindsey, the commander of Naval Installations Command, said they’ll eliminate them wherever there is no local church — but only for Catholics.
It’s a Loss of 1st Amendment Rights
Rev. Jose Pimentel, a priest who has led services at Naval Base Coronado and Naval Air Station North Island for eight years, said it is a personal loss and it’s a loss of the 1st Amendment rights of service members on bases.
“One issue is discrimination (and) another is the violation of your right to practice your religion,” he said when reached by phone Friday.
Pimentel was notified Aug. 19 that the Navy will not exercise the final two years of his contract, citing “funding constraints.” His last day is Sept. 30.
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Contracted priests at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and at Marine Corps Recruit Depot will stay on, however, because service members at those locations don’t have options for the church outside those bases.
Catholic services on overseas bases and on Navy ships also will continue. How nice of them.
You Can’t Duplicate the Community Outside the Camp
Members of the Coronado and North Island parish say the community they have formed around the base chapel can’t be replicated elsewhere.
“It’s a Navy chapel — a community thing,” said Anne-Marie Miley, a retired Navy pilot who said she has volunteered at the chapel for 11 years. “We get to meet up with other retirees and active-duty personnel. The church out in town has a large congregation; it’s much more personal to go on base.”
Richard Haas, a retired Navy Captain who said he has attended chapel at Coronado for 30 years, agreed.
“It’s part of being in the military — the camaraderie,” Haas said. “To me it’s synonymous, you all have a common thread — you served in the military.”
Catholics on active duty also have needs many civilian priests can’t accommodate, Pimentel said. Sacraments such as Holy Communion, confirmation, and marriages can be challenging for service members and their families when balancing deployment schedules.
“It’s hard to quantify what I do,” Pimentel said, saying he’s done everything from performing weddings and baptisms to counseling families of service members who died by suicide.
“I’m a 25-year veteran of the Navy and Air Force, so I can provide a certain level of support they wouldn’t get from the civilian side,” he said.
Pimentel and those who attend Catholic services said there is still a high demand for Mass.
“Between three services, I serve about 250 to 400 people on the weekends,” Pimentel said.
IT’S UNFAIR AND NOT INCLUSIVE
Parishioners who spoke with the Union-Tribune questioned the fairness of Catholic services being canceled while Protestant services will continue.
“I don’t understand; the Chaplain Corps has gone to great lengths to be inclusive,” Haas said. “Why deny Catholic members the right to hold their worship services? For a service member on (Coronado) or North Island to go out in town to find a priest — it doesn’t work that way.”
Bill Bartkus, a retired Navy senior chief, has been attending Mass at North Island for 40 years. He said the loss of Catholic services is discriminatory.
“It is unfair,” he said. “I’m very sad that I can’t go to Mass anymore on the military base where I’ve been going 40 years. I’d like to stay in my own military community. We know each other.”
This is discriminatory. How much could they possibly save? The military has the largest or one of the largest chunks of our U.S. budget but only Catholic services have to go? Not Protestant or other religions? Catholics represent a third of the nation’s people. Why them?
Update: It’s not happening!
The United States Navy, or the Department of Defense, will NOT be cancelling its contract with Catholic Priests who serve our men and women in the Armed Forces so well, and with such great compassion & skill. This will no longer be even a point of discussion! @CardinalDolan
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2020
wpDiscuz
