The Catholic Weekly 17 May 2020

8 17, May, 2020 F rom the archbishop catholicweekly.com.au To lay down one’s life The sacrifices of fallen Aussies on foreign battlefields can be lessons for us in the present crisis “T he effects of war are widely spread and can be long termor short term. Soldiers experi- ence war differently than civil- ians, although [both] suffer in times of war…” So begins the 5,000 word Wikipedia entry on ‘Effects of war’. It goes on to enumerate some economic, The spiritual effects this period of self-sacrifice may have on us, in some ways, be similar to those who go through war. The spiritual effects this period of self sacrifice may have on us may, in some ways, be similar to those who go through war. social and political upshots of war. Yet strangely, apart from a passing mention of ‘trauma’, there is nomention of war’s emotional and spiritual toll. The glaring omission in this otherwise thorough page is the human dimension – what war does to hearts and souls. Around Anzac Day wemust surely ask ourselves: What does war (and preparedness for war) do to us psychologi- cally, emotionally, spiritually? How does it affect the way we think, feel and believe? One strain in popular cul- ture tends to romanticise war, reflected in films like Sergeant York (1941), Bridge Over the River Kwai (1957), The Guns of Navarone (1961), The Great Escape (1963) and Gallipoli (1981) in which war is some- thing of an adventure. But in recent decades awareness of the brutality of war and resul- tant ‘PTSD’ and even suicide among veterans has grown. Defence forces offer psycho- logical care as part of their Mental Health andWellbe- ing Strategy and there’s a sus- tained campaign for investi- gating themental health of veterans. On a popular level this new awareness is reflect- ed in films like The Deerhunt- er (1978), Apocalypse Now (1979), Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983), Platoon (1986), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), War Horse (2011) and 1917 (2019). But if awareness of the psy- chological effects of war upon combatants and their fami- lies is growing, what about the spiritual impacts? It’s often observed that in a crisis like war, religious people can go either of two ways: their faith can carry them through or it can die on the battlefield. While it’s been said that there are no atheists in foxholes, it’s also regularly asked how a good God could allowwar? This paradox was evident in the Australian response to the First WorldWar. At the time there was serious division over themoral and religious justifi- cation for the war (if any) and especially for conscription. Churches were a significant source of inspiration, charita- ble aid and chaplaincy to the troops; yet the bulk of soldiers were not overtly religious and many returnees found spiritu- al refuge in service clubs more than churches. In the years that followed there was a jump in those who self-identified as “No Religion” or wandered away from tradi- tional religion into theosophy, séances, communismand the like. On the other hand, the two world wars and depression framed Australia’s most Chris- tian era and a time when prac- tising rates amongst Catho- Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP