In the final sermon before his assassination in 1980, Archbishop of El Salvador Oscar Romero told the soldiers in a public broadcast to refuse the orders of the violent, militaristic regime in the country.
“I want to make a special appeal to soldiers, national guardsmen and policemen: Each of you is one of us. The peasants you kill are your own brothers and sisters. When you hear a man telling you to kill, remember God’s words, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ No soldier is obliged to obey a law contrary to the law of God. In the name of God, in the name of our tormented people, I beseech you, I implore you; in the name of God, I command you to stop the repression.”
He knew that at some point the church had to speak up even if it meant going directly against the government and even led to accusations of treason.
We are entering a similar moment here in the United States with a reckless and profligate leader who is illegally invading nations, openly and brazenly committing war crimes, and risking the lives of an untold number of U.S. soldiers and innocent civilians across the globe.
It is time for churches to be bold in telling soldiers to find a way out, whether that is through finding ways to become conscientious objectors, or if that is not possible, to refuse to serve altogether. I know it is easier said than done, but it would be the better choice for many of these young soldiers than to be sent to Iran to die or to kill innocent people. It would be better than being complicit in war crimes.
Hopefully, anyone who makes this bold and just of a stance to refuse to go along with these illegal actions will be pardoned in the future when our democracy is restored.
This is especially the obligation of more progressive congregations. We know that unfortunately there are a large number of evangelicals who have no issue with the illegal military actions of Donald Trump, and some are actually openly blessing them. Just this past week, Trump was compared to Esther and Jesus himself by some of these leaders.
Thus it is up to progressive clergy who may speak against the war but are hesitant to make this next step to directly appeal to soldiers in their congregations and communities. However, this next step is necessary. Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump will not listen to the voices of reason or justice, but many individual soldiers may, and it is time for pastors to take this necessary stance of Romero.
They should also follow Jesus himself, who called for his followers to reject violence and be peacemakers.
Will McCorkle, Charleston, S.C.