Anzac day: a faith event?

As a result of disturbing reports on the failures of the ADF’s military justice system, the Australian Parliament began an investigation. Day after day, from cadets through to line command, from individual officers to their families, it heard of abuse, bias, vilification, harassment, and the suicides. The church appearing before the inquiry, through its Brigadier Principal Chaplain, had not a word of criticism. In fact, a remarkable amount of his evidence was taken up with a discussion of his uniform and whether or not he wore a clerical collar!

Just after Anzac Day 2007, it was reported that the Howard Government had “gone war memorial mad”. There was nearly $3 million for a memorial in France, a $100,00 fountain in Canberra’s Anzac Parade, $1.5 million for Vietnam War commemorations, $12 million for “a bigger and better car park” at the Australian War Memorial, and nearly $50 million on “commemorative activities” for war anniversaries. As one veteran put it, “it stinks giving $12 million to a bloody car park, when veterans are struggling to get help for their health problems” (Sydney Morning Herald, May 14, 2007).

Again the military could depend on the silence of the churches.

A faith event is not about parades and prayers. A faith event is about confession and the creation of four million Iraqi refugees and an untold number of soldiers disturbed and disabled. It’s about the condemnation of evil whether that of the suicide bomb or the cluster bomb; it’s about a rededication to peace, and not to out of control budgets for maiming and killing.

Anzac Day services might be a lot of things, but they are not faith events.