{"id":30619,"date":"2026-01-22T10:36:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=30619"},"modified":"2026-01-22T10:36:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:36:42","slug":"can-soldiers-say-no-archbishop-challenges-moral-limits-of-military-orders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/01\/can-soldiers-say-no-archbishop-challenges-moral-limits-of-military-orders","title":{"rendered":"Can Soldiers Say No? Archbishop Challenges Moral Limits of Military Orders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left: Adobe Stock | Right: Public Domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the past few months, the Secretary of War has taken action against military veterans who are also Democratic politicians for a video they posted online, which encouraged military members to disobey “illegal orders.”<\/p>\n

Now, the Catholic archbishop for the U.S. military, Timothy Broglio, has weighed in<\/a>, suggesting that it would be “morally acceptable” for troops to disobey orders that violated their consciences.<\/p>\n

Several questions arise.<\/p>\n

First, what constitutes an “illegal order”? Second, is there a difference between an “illegal” order and one that “violates one’s conscience”? Third, what does it mean to say that such action is “morally acceptable”? And how does Christian theology intersect with such legal questions?<\/p>\n

The concept that there are some orders which troops may be justified in disobeying is not new. At the Nuremberg trials after World War II, many German soldiers tried to defend their actions by saying that they were “following orders.” That defense was rejected; in fact, most people recognize that “following orders” cannot justify war crimes.<\/p>\n

But the example of Nazi Germany is difficult to apply in most cases, because no one is suggesting that our armed forces engage in genocide. At the other end of the scale, the military cannot leave the question of obeying orders up to each soldier.<\/p>\n

“Appropriate” orders must be obeyed, and failure to do so subjects one to discipline. So where is the line? What constitutes an “illegal order”? These are the questions raised by Archbishop Broglio’s recent comments.<\/p>\n

It’s difficult to develop a definition that clearly answers the question. On its face, an “Illegal” order is against the law. But what law? The law of the service member’s country? Civil law, or the Code of Military Justice? The law of the place where the conflict is taking place? Or international law?<\/p>\n

Defining what makes an order “illegal” is the necessary first step in determining when a service member may be justified in disobeying such an order.<\/p>\n

Second, is there a difference between an “illegal” order and an order that “defies one’s conscience”? Clearly, there is a difference \u2013 one that is easily recognized in military practice. The right of individual servicemen or women to be “conscientious objectors” is long-standing. Those who have sincere religious beliefs against combat can serve in non-combat roles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This guards the service member’s conscience by not putting them in a position where they have to choose whether to disobey an order to attack someone else.<\/p>\n

But the current discussion is not about that. The current debate began after the U.S. military began attacking suspected “drug boats” in the Caribbean last September.<\/p>\n

Several questions immediately arose. Who is determining whether the boats in question are actually smuggling drugs? Are there any safeguards in place to protect the rights of those on the boats before they are summarily attacked and killed? In at least one instance, survivors of an attack were subjected to additional attacks \u2013 presumably to ensure that there were no survivors.<\/p>\n

At the time, a number of military veterans from both parties suggested that if that happened, it would clearly constitute a war crime. That prompted a video from Democratic House and Senate members, reminding the armed forces that they are not obligated to obey “illegal orders.”<\/p>\n

Those are the legal issues. The recent comments by Archbishop Broglio, however, take the debate to a different level. What does it mean to say that it is “morally acceptable” to ignore orders that violate one’s conscience?<\/p>\n

Archbishop Broglio spoke within the context of recent suggestions by the Administration that it might take Greenland by force.<\/p>\n

As the archbishop noted: “I am obviously worried because they could be put in a situation where they are being ordered to do something which is morally questionable” \u2013 i.e., attack and try to seize the territory of an ally.<\/p>\n

But it is one thing to say that it is morally acceptable to ignore such an order. It is another thing to put our service members in a situation where they are required to make that call. As Archbishop Broglio also stated, while it would be morally acceptable for the service member to ignore such orders, putting them in a position where they must choose to disobey is “untenable.”<\/p>\n

The archbishop’s comments are grounded in “just-war” theory. In Catholic teaching, defensive use of military force against an attacker may be justified as a final resort, subject to strict criteria to limit its use.<\/p>\n

One of the most vital criteria is that the use of force “must not produce evils and disorders greater than the evil to be eliminated.” In other words, the ends do not justify the means. Expecting soldiers and sailors to make such determinations in the heat of conflict is unreasonable; that is why it is incumbent upon spiritual leaders to speak out on their behalf, as Archbishop Broglio has done.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, as has often been the case with this president, Evangelicals have been largely silent. Warrantless arrests and summary deportations? Demeaning and biased treatment of whole groups of people? Erecting ever more barriers against people seeking to come to the United States in search of peace and hope? Church leaders have been largely silent.<\/p>\n

At some point, Christians need to demand that our leaders act consistently with both our Constitution and our “moral compass.” If members of the military have the right to disobey illegal orders, then Christians have the right \u2013 and the obligation \u2013 to reject policies and politicians that lead the country in ways that violate our consciences.<\/p>\n

Evangelicals haven’t struggled to do that when Democrats were in power; it’s time to hold Republicans, and this administration in particular, to the same standard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the past few months, the Secretary of War has taken action against military veterans who are also Democratic politicians for a video they posted online, which encouraged military members to disobey “illegal orders.” Now, the Catholic archbishop for the U.S. military, Timothy Broglio, has weighed in, suggesting that it would be “morally acceptable” for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":30622,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCan Soldiers Say No? 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