August 6, 2018 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Phil Wright at pwright@chaplainalliance.orgor (612) 250-2072, or Craig Muehler at (314) 996-1346
Chaplains concerned about latest threat to religious liberty in CH Scott Squires’ case
WASHINGTON— On Monday, Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty responded with great concern to new charges against U.S. Army Chaplain Squires. An Army investigator charged Squires, a decorated Army chaplain, with dereliction of duty and recommended punishment for acting upon his beliefs about marriage. Additionally, the investigator has charged CH Squires with using the denominational tenets of his faith and his endorser’s guidance as an offensive weapon against a same-sex soldier and her partner.
“Chaplain Squires simply followed approved North American Mission Board (NAMB) and Army guidance when dealing with a request for services from a same-sex couple that he could not provide as a chaplain,” said Chaplain (COL) Phil Wright, USA retired, executive director of Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “But now his constitutional freedom of religion is being challenged and his motives are being impugned by an investigator.”
The Army investigator charged CH Squires with willfully discriminating against the couple by following procedure when he faced a situation where he could not provide the requested training due to the clear prohibition of his endorser. “You don’t need to share Chaplain Squire’s beliefs, to be deeply concerned by an investigator’s claim that he knows the chaplain’s motivation and declares him guilty,” Wright continued. “This baseless attack on a chaplain’s motives does a great disservice to the military, its service members, and its chaplains. Chaplain Squires and all our service members, regardless of their faith tradition, deserve better.”
Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty is an organization of chaplain endorsers, the religious faith groups that provide chaplains for the U.S. military, and other agencies needing chaplains. The endorsers in the Chaplain Alliance collectively endorse more than two-thirds of the 5,500 military chaplains serving in the Armed Forces.
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