For John Williams, then a Marine serving in Iraq, the 2004 Easter Triduum bore no spiritual revival — or so he thought. On Holy Thursday of that year (April 8), his unit got orders to join Operation Vigilant Resolve, also known as the First Battle of Fallujah.
For 27 years, people have filled a triangle park in this neighborhood around Memorial Day to honor its namesake, Marine Corps Maj. Eugene McCarthy, who died in Operation Desert Storm. But this year’s observance on Sunday, May 19, took on a new significance — a rededication to include a plaque for McCarthy’s older brother, Dennis.
The cause for sainthood for Maryknoll Father Vincent Capodanno, a U.S. Navy chaplain killed ministering to wounded Marines on a Vietnam War battlefield, has moved slightly forward, say those advocating canonization for the man they called the “grunt padre.”
On the 55th anniversary of his death in Vietnam, Maryknoll Father Vincent Capodanno was remembered at a Mass celebrated in his hometown in a chapel that bears his name.
Members of the Father Capodanno Guild recently were startled by a recommendation from Theological Consultants for a “suspension” of the chaplain’s cause for sainthood. The consultants said more information is needed to support the new “offering of life” path to sainthood established in 2017 by Pope Francis.
For the way he lived, and the way he died, there are those who believe that Father Vincent Capodanno deserves to be beatified and ultimately canonized as a saint.
Author Phil Klay of Queens, an Iraq War veteran, explained that even in a so-called “just war,” the combatants cannot shrug off memories of violence they’ve inflicted. “So,” Klay added, “when you try to confront issues that our existence throws up at us, you have to rely on different tools. And that’s how I came back to religion.”
