Perspectief 2015-30

2015-30 37 Reluctant Prophets - The Prophetic Task of Military Chaplains Its Legitimacy and Practice Fred van Iersel 1 Key question This paper presents a view on the prophetic role of military chaplains as a key element in a pluralism of pastoral roles. For those who know about the International Criminal Court in The Hague, it will be clear that this a place where justice is done after war crimes, gross violations of human rights, and crimes against humanitarian law. The ICC shows the importance of Justice in the context of warfare and other military operations. Today, I want to offer you some reflections on a theme related to your visit to the ICC, namely: what exactly does it mean when military chaplains would take up a prophetic role within the military? Can they, should they, do they actually promote justice in the military and from the side of the military? 1 In an earlier stage of my career I worked as a chief of Roman Catholic prison chaplaincy service in this country, with 65 chaplains working under me. In this position, I can assure you, I was not always happy to be the manager of at least two or three prophetic chaplains. Why? In most cases, pastoral prophetism both in prison systems and in the military, occurs in a context of problems and even conflicts. And of course, most managers do not like problems, let alone conflicts, let alone conflicts with the organization that embeds them. Pastoral managers are no different, I guess. Most chiefs of chaplains will prefer the chaplain 1 The point of view in this article is based on the interrelatedness of moral theology/theological ethics on one hand and practical theology on the other hand. Its focus is on the conditions under which the functioning of basic sources of religion and philosophy of life can be promoted through religious leadership, of which prophetic leadership is an important example.