“Fortunately, this issue is progressively coming to the fore. Specialists are getting training to address military isolation and moral injuries, and we too want to give people the help that they need at our level.”
Perkins, who holds a master’s degree in theology with an emphasis on moral injury, explained that moral wounds can be sustained either through one’s own actions or those of others. Deep moral injuries, she said, can also result from remaining silent before morally reprehensible actions committed by individuals or groups.
“If you break a rule in the military, you’ll get a penalty for it, while moral injury is a violation of moral codes that do not necessarily have to do with the law,” she said.
“At the same time, while physical injury is mostly addressed with medication, moral injury is more difficult to identify and then to address.”
Perkins pointed to her mission in Iraq as a trigger of a deep personal wound.
“I saw so many horrible, unimaginable things there and I felt a moral injury by supporting that war effort through my mission on the ground, seeing what people were doing to each other,” she said.
In her view, the best way to heal that kind of wound is first to understand and recognize the symptoms — including grief, depression, guilt, and suicidal ideation — with the help of a trained moral authority such as a religious leader whose guidance can help soldiers acknowledge what happened and start to forgive themselves.
Charles H. Gallina, a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, highlighted the sacraments’ role in healing the soul.
“The real treatment of moral injury is confession,” the principal coordinator for the WTL pilgrimage told CNA, explaining that 17 chaplains are accompanying the pilgrims.
“We bring these wounded people to Lourdes so that they have the opportunity to reconnect with Christ through Our Lady, and I’m spending my time talking to them, encouraging them to go to confession, or helping them to open up with me if they don’t want to talk to anybody else,” Gallina said.
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“We’ve decided to devote more resources and attention to interior wounds because we think that a lot of suicides could be avoided in that way, and that’s the reason why we’re having moral injury sessions every day.”
The Ukraine war is another focal point of this year’s pilgrimage. On May 13, the Warriors to Lourdes assembled around 3,000 prayer kits that will be shipped to Ukrainian military personnel. The kits, blessed by Archbishop Broglio, include a rosary, Our Lady of Lourdes prayer card, Blessed Michael McGivney prayer card, and vial of Lourdes holy water.
In addition, the Knights of Columbus have sponsored a Ukrainian delegation consisting of six active-duty military personnel, four mothers of fallen soldiers, two military officials, two military chaplains, and a military bishop, so that they can seek protection and consolation from Our Lady of Lourdes for their war-torn nation.
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