Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Archdiocese for Military Affairs, gives a soldier communion during a Christmas service in Poznan, Poland, on Dec. 25, 2022. The Army will resume hiring religious support contractors, who Broglio says are critical to maintaining Catholic ministry and outreach for service members. (Anthony Sanchez/U.S. Army)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The Army will resume hiring religious support workers for the chaplain corps after canceling their contracts last year as part of a financial review.
The loss of assistants in assorted roles related to ministry work prompted outcry from Catholic leaders and some overseas military families.
The service recently posted initial solicitations on a federal contracting website indicating plans to fill several positions.
The listings include a Catholic pastoral life coordinator and religious education coordinator for U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria.
Hiring will resume while the investigation continues, the Army said in response to questions.
Last year, U.S. Army Installation Management Command canceled the contracts for religious support work ranging from music services to religious education and other administrative duties.
The cancellation stemmed from concerns that the job descriptions in the contracts were too similar to the duties outlined for chaplains or other religious support staff.
It is “strictly prohibited to use a different funding stream to contract for tasks and services already included in validated manning requirements,” IMCOM wrote in a March memo.
Although all religious denominations were affected, pushback was particularly strong among Catholics.
In Kaiserslautern, priests who serve in the largest U.S. military community overseas said the inability to hire a pastoral life coordinator had them stretched thin.
Soldiers pray at a Mass in 2024 at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. The Army will resume hiring religious support contractors, a decision that follows an outcry last year from Catholic leaders and some service members overseas. (James Secriskey/U.S. Army)
Duties of that position include helping priests keep records of baptisms, marriages and other sacraments performed overseas with the diocese.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the head of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, said at the time the cancellations were announced that Catholic ministry and outreach rely heavily on the contract support workers.
He argued that they could not be adequately replaced by other Army religious support staff.
“In canceling these contracts, the Army over-burdens Catholic chaplains, harms chapel communities, and impedes the constitutional guarantee of the free exercise of religion especially for Catholics,” Broglio wrote in an October letter.
Catholic priests make up about only 5.5% of all Army chaplains, making it difficult for them to meet the needs of the 26% of soldiers who are Catholic, Broglio said.
The Army’s official confirmation of the reinstatement of the religious support contracts follows a reassurance that Broglio said he had received from service officials last year.
