Air Force Steps Back From 'Code of Ethics'
By ROBERT BURNS
AP Military Writer
October 11, 2005, 5:14 PM EDT
WASHINGTON -- The Air Force has withdrawn from use by its chaplain service a code of ethics that endorsed the practice of evangelizing military service members who are not affiliated with any specific religion.
The move, disclosed by Air Force officials on Tuesday, came in the wake of a lawsuit by a Jewish graduate of the Air Force Academy, Mikey Weinstein, of Albuquerque, N.M., who claims that senior officers and cadets illegally imposed Christianity on others at the school.
The code of ethics -- issued by the Ai
r Force Chaplain Service in January 2005 -- includes the statement: "I will not actively proselytize from other religious bodies. However, I retain the right to instruct and/or evangelize those who are not affiliated."
Jennifer Stephens, an Air Force spokeswoman, said the code of ethics was withdrawn "for further review" on Aug. 10. She did not say why it was withdrawn, but she stressed that it was separate from a code of ethics written by the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces, a private organization of religious bodies that provides chaplains to all of the military services.
That group's code also says military chaplains reserve the right to evangelize those who are not affiliated with any religious faith, but Stephens said the Air Force "has no authority over the statements of that organization."
Last week, Mary L. Walker, the Air Force's top lawyer, wrote in a letter to an attorney for Weinstein that an Air Force chaplain service document "might have been understood to represent such a policy statement" on evangelizing but that the document was withdrawn from use. Stephens said Walker was referring to the Air Force code of ethics statement.
Weinstein filed his suit last week in federal court in New Mexico. Among the evidence he cited was a July 12 article in The New York Times that quoted the Air Force's deputy chief of chaplains, Brig. Gen. Cecil R. Richardson, as saying, "We will not proselytize, but we reserve the right to evangelize the unchurched."
In her letter, Walker disputed that statement. "There is no existing Air Force policy endorsing 'proselytizing' or 'evangelizing' 'the unchurched,'" she wrote.
* __
On the Net:
National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces at http://www.ncmaf.org/
Air Force at http://www.af.mil
Link Here
AP Military Writer
October 11, 2005, 5:14 PM EDT
WASHINGTON -- The Air Force has withdrawn from use by its chaplain service a code of ethics that endorsed the practice of evangelizing military service members who are not affiliated with any specific religion.
The move, disclosed by Air Force officials on Tuesday, came in the wake of a lawsuit by a Jewish graduate of the Air Force Academy, Mikey Weinstein, of Albuquerque, N.M., who claims that senior officers and cadets illegally imposed Christianity on others at the school.
The code of ethics -- issued by the Ai
r Force Chaplain Service in January 2005 -- includes the statement: "I will not actively proselytize from other religious bodies. However, I retain the right to instruct and/or evangelize those who are not affiliated."
Jennifer Stephens, an Air Force spokeswoman, said the code of ethics was withdrawn "for further review" on Aug. 10. She did not say why it was withdrawn, but she stressed that it was separate from a code of ethics written by the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces, a private organization of religious bodies that provides chaplains to all of the military services.
That group's code also says military chaplains reserve the right to evangelize those who are not affiliated with any religious faith, but Stephens said the Air Force "has no authority over the statements of that organization."
Last week, Mary L. Walker, the Air Force's top lawyer, wrote in a letter to an attorney for Weinstein that an Air Force chaplain service document "might have been understood to represent such a policy statement" on evangelizing but that the document was withdrawn from use. Stephens said Walker was referring to the Air Force code of ethics statement.
Weinstein filed his suit last week in federal court in New Mexico. Among the evidence he cited was a July 12 article in The New York Times that quoted the Air Force's deputy chief of chaplains, Brig. Gen. Cecil R. Richardson, as saying, "We will not proselytize, but we reserve the right to evangelize the unchurched."
In her letter, Walker disputed that statement. "There is no existing Air Force policy endorsing 'proselytizing' or 'evangelizing' 'the unchurched,'" she wrote.
* __
On the Net:
National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces at http://www.ncmaf.org/
Air Force at http://www.af.mil
Link Here
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