Afghan Journal: “Evangelizing and re-evangelizing” in tough terrain
(POSTED: 1/18/13) The Rev. Matt Foley is a Chicago priest serving as a U.S. military chaplain in Afghanistan. He sends us occasional dispatches, including this recent email.Q: Tell us about your average week, what you do?
A: I am currently based out of Bagram. Almost every day begins with PT. Office time and visiting my Soldiers takes place from morning until after dinner. I have a daily Mass M-F at 1800. On weekends I will have 3 to 5 Masses to cover on BAF. When I am off Bagram visiting Soldiers on other FOBs I always celebrate Masses while travel from FOB to FOB.
Q: Has that changed since your earlier tours?
A: The travel has been less frequent on this long deployment as opposed to 2009. I had 2 short deployments in Spring of 2011 and Winter of 2011-12 where I traveled almost everyday. Daily Masses and visiting Soldiers remain consistent on this longer deployment.
Q: What have you noticed differently this time around?
A: We have less US Soldiers in country and more Afghanistan Soldiers taking the lead. We also have more Roman Catholic Priests in Afghanistan than we had on 2009-10.
Q: What are the needs of your “flock”?
A: They need to have access to Bible studies and faith formation classes.
Q: Are you afraid moving around the country? Do you ever fear being targeted because you are a Catholic cleric in a country not always tolerant toward other faiths?
A: When traveling or remaining on a FOB one must always remain vigilant and respect those who may want to bring deadly force against you or your Soldiers. I was able to participate in more Key Leader Engagements with the local population in 2009-10. As we continue to assist the development of the Afghanistan Military I believe that we allowing many of the Key Leader Engagements to be handled by the Afghanistan Military.
Q: What are your greatest challenges?
A: Evangelizing and re-evangelizing fallen away or non-practicing Roman Catholics.
Q: What are your greatest joys?
A: Celebrating Mass and visiting the sick, traveling the beautiful country of Afghanistan.
Q: Do you see a day when more priests will do as you did, join the military and attend to those serving Stateside and overseas?
A: We have 195 Dioceses in the U.S. We have about 90 active duty Army priests. The Archdiocese of Chicago has 5 active duty Priests currently serving in the U.S. Army. We could use a few more Dioceses to send 1 or 2 Priests and we would be tremendously blessed.
Prayers for Peace
By the Rev. Matt Foley, a Roman Catholic priest who, in 2008, gave up a parish assignment at St. Agnes of Bohemia in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood to go to war. More to the point, he joined the Army as a chaplain. Now posted in Afghanistan, Father Matt has agreed to send occasional dispatches to ChicagoCatholicNews.com, sharing his experiences.
Contact: info@chicagocatholicnews.com
Contact: info@chicagocatholicnews.com
