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elations with Nazi Germany—a bond that extended to the faithful in the United States, as warapproached once again the American Catholic Church was at the forefront of rallying the faithfulbehind the U.S. government. In this effort, Catholic chaplains served as the advanced guard.Already in 1936, Catholic chaplains were reported to “feel keenly” about the “frequent agitations”for “peace at any price” being promoted by the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in Americaand the Church Peace Union’s call for withdrawing chaplains from the Navy and Army. On December31, 1936, Rev. George J. Waring, vicar general of the Military Ordinariate, wrote to Mon. MichaelJ. Read, general secretary of the National Catholic Welfare Conference that, “While we are opposedto war, we cannot assume that conditions will not arise that will necessitate it. … In the N.C. Newsreleases, you will be able to state the Catholic policy in reference to war and the need for chaplainsin the services, both in time of peace and war.” In May 1940, The New York Times reported that atthe 15 th annual conference of the Army Chaplains of the United States, “Army Chaplains Hear UnityPleas … Strong Defense is Backed.” Keynote speaker William Arnold, Army chief of chaplains,told the group, “It is not only a privilege and an honor to belong to an army that will save us” fromgodless totalitarianism “but it is also a religious duty.” Archbishop Francis J. Spellman warned thegathered, who included New York Governor Herbert Lehman and Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, that:“We’ve heard of fifth, sixth and seventh columns in other countries and we know of the existence ofthem here.” Spellman added:We chaplains should concentrate on the second column—love of God and love of country. Wein the United States have good will toward all, but we should not be so good-willed as to allowthose of bad will to predominate. We should not be so democratic as to allow others to comeand destroy our democracy. We should uphold and defend our freedom.Seven months later, on Veterans’ Day, Rev. O’Hara, bishop of the Military Ordinate, addressed3,500 of the faithful as a mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral while Spellman looked on, saying, “Thegreatest service you can do your country and your God in this day is to work and pray for theconversion of the enemy from within—conversion to God and to true Americanism.” Less than twomonths before Pearl Harbor, in October 1941, the National Catholic Welfare Council was able toreport, “Priests now with the armed forces of the United States represent the largest complement ofCatholic Chaplains ever to serve in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps during peacetime in the historyof the country.” 58On the eve of U.S. participation in World War II Father Arnold, the chief of Army chaplains, sentout a “My dear Chaplain” letter to those under his command in which he extolled the armed forceswhose participation in the conflict was quickly approaching. “The purpose and influence of yourreligious work extend far beyond mere military training and armed defense,” Arnold wrote. “You area man of peace … in the midst of warlike surroundings. Your Government, your Army, and the menyou face in religious assemblies under tent or in open fields are all for peace. But they are compelledby the belligerent force of moral evil in the world to arm and fight for the preservation of those rightsand liberties without which no peace is possible.” 5958“The History of Military Chaplains,” op., cit.; D’Agostino, op.cit., pp. 159-229, 250.; Box 57, Folder: “Military Affairs: Chaplains 1930-1939,”National Catholic Welfare Council General Administration Series, ACUA. Waring enclosed a September 23, 1933 letter from Linley V. Gordon ofthe Church Peace Union, that quoted Rev. Peter Ainslie’s book, Some Experiments in Living, that made the case for withdrawing the chaplains fromservice: “War having been outlawed by the political governments of the world, the logical step was for the denominations to withdraw their chaplainsfrom a world-outlawed institution. This one act would have done more than any other one thing to remove war from consideration among the nationsof the world.” In a September 28, 1933 response to Gordon, Waring responded: “Even if war has been outlawed by some of the Governments of theword, I cannot see that that has to do with the maintenance of a national army. An army is to the nation what the police force is to a state or city. Noone ever suggested that police forces are organized for the purpose of making war on citizens. Their chief function is to maintain peace and order intheir respective communities.”; The New York Times, May 22, 1940, p. 12.; “Enemy Conversion by Prayer Asked,” The New York Times, Nov. 11,1940, p. 14. “467 priests in service; Record peacetime complement of U.S. Catholic military chaplains,” NCWC News Service release, October 15,1941, Box 57, Folder: “Military Affairs: Chaplains 1940-1941”; National Catholic Welfare Council General Administration Series, ACUA.59NCWC/USCC General Secretary/Executive Department 100-D, “Military Affairs: War Dept.: Chief of Chaplains 1940”, ACUA.Security and Defense Studies Review 2009/Edición 2009/ Edicão 2009/ Volume 9, Issues 1 & 2 127