Pope: Vocation of military and police is to defend life, peace, justice

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Thanking members of the military and the police for their service, Pope Francis asked them to be on guard against seeing other people as enemies and instead dedicate their lives to defending life, peace and justice.

"Be vigilant lest you be poisoned by propaganda that instills hatred (and) divides the world into friends to be defended and foes to fight," the pope wrote in his homily for the Mass Feb. 9 for the Jubilee of the Armed Services, Police and Security Personnel.

The Vatican said some 30,000 active and retired members of the military and police from 100 countries -- including U.S. military and members of the New York Police Department-- registered as pilgrims for the jubilee celebration.

Pope Francis, who has been suffering from what the Vatican said was bronchitis, presided over the liturgy in St. Peter's Square with a weak and hoarse voice. U.S.-born Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, was the main celebrant at the altar.

The pope read the first paragraph of his prepared homily, ad-libbing a bit about remembering how God is always close by, but then asked his master of liturgical ceremonies, Archbishop Diego Ravelli, to continue reading the text because he was having "difficulty breathing."

In the text, the pope asked the military and police to "be courageous witnesses of the love of God our Father, who wants us all to be brothers and sisters" and to be "artisans of a new era of peace, justice and fraternity."

"I would encourage you never to lose sight of the purpose of your service and all your activity, which is to promote life, to save lives, to be a constant defender of life," the pope wrote in his text.

Pope Francis also thanked police and prison guards who are "at the forefront of the fight against crime and violence" and all those who, in the name of their nations, are "engaged in relief work in the wake of natural disasters, the safeguarding of the environment, rescue efforts at sea, the protection of the vulnerable and the promotion of peace."

Pope Francis took the microphone at the end of Mass to lead the recitation of the Angelus but also to insist that "armed service should be exercised only for legitimate self-defense and never to impose dominion over another nation."

"May weapons everywhere be silenced, and the cries of the people asking for peace be heard," he said.

The pilgrims were formally welcomed to Rome Feb. 8 with an outdoor concert in Piazza del Popolo under a steady rain.

Jesuit Father Andriy Zelinskyy, coordinator of chaplains for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, was there with a retired Ukrainian bishop and three other Ukrainian chaplains.

"The goal of a pilgrimage is always to go back to your roots, to find where you are and why you are here. For Christians, it is to love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified, died and rose for us," he told Catholic News Service. "And this is true for war-wounded humanity as well."

The Jubilee gathering of military and police from about 100 countries "is already a sign of hope," he said. "We come together to pray, to stand against evil and to renew our commitment to peace and defending human dignity."

U.S. Senior Airman Jessica Previlon from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska said gathering of military personnel from around the world gave her hope because "the vision of all of us is looking for peace."

While she was raised Catholic, Previlon said that after high school "I stopped going to church ... but this year, I started going to church and I learned that there's a jubilee. And I decided that it was a time for me."

Being in Rome and visiting ancient churches and seeing the signs of people's faith over centuries, "is just amazing," she said. It is "like a memory of something from the past, but as long as it is still in your head, it's alive."

U.S. Air Force Lt. Kenzie Gaspard, who is stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California, read the first reading at the Mass with the pope in St. Peter's Square.

She, too, was in Piazza del Popolo for the welcome concert. Gaspard told CNS she joined the pilgrimage because she is discerning her future and was looking for a strong prayer experience to help.

Asked if she believed God called her to the military, she said "yes" without hesitation. "I felt the call to service, both in faith and in the military. Yes, I would say he guided me in that direction. He knew what I needed."

U.S. Senior Airman Caleb Reichow flew to Rome for the Jubilee from Yokota Air Force Base in Japan. He was less than a month from completing a four-year enlistment and transitioning to the reserves. He also plans to return to seminary for the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa.

"Something that's always been very attractive to me about the faith and the military that correlates well together, is the aspect of serving others before yourself, as well as being willing to sacrifice great amounts, even to the point of sacrificing your life, for the greater good," he told CNS.

Reichow said he draws hope from the camaraderie of the Catholic community at Yokota as the men and women strive "to bring the Gospel to others daily, as well as to emulate that by how we act and how we treat others, how we choose to love as well as serve."