The following is the full transcript of the interview with Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services U.S.A. a portion of which will air on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on April 5, 2026. The interview was taped on April 2, 2026.
ED O’KEEFE: We turn now to Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services U.S.A, which oversees more than 200 Catholic priests serving as chaplains in the United States military. Thank you so much for being here. We really appreciate it, and part of the reason we wanted to hear from you is yours is a unique ministry in the sense that you don’t oversee a geographic region or any real significant church real estate, you essentially minister on bases and the battlefield. And so given ongoing operations right now in the Middle East, in the Caribbean, in other parts of the world, I’m curious, what is your spiritual guidance to a service member who comes seeking it?
ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY BROGLIO: Well, thank you very much for the opportunity, and it’s- it varies depending on, on where the person is. We’re dealing with a situation in the Middle East now, for example, where the chaplains are still in place, but many of the dependents have been moved to Europe or back to the United States. So they find themselves in a situation where the faithful to whom they were ministering are either gone or they’re in hotels. So that changes the whole reality. And then there are others, of course, who are with the troops that are- have been moved in. And of course, their minister- ministry, in a certain sense, is a little more- a little more regular, but it’s still a challenge because of the situation.
ED O’KEEFE: Given that you’re a priest ministering to people in the military, I imagine much of your work, much of your focus, is built around St Augustine and the idea of just war, or when is war justified, the idea that it’s only waged as a necessity and in order that peace may be obtained, and more broadly, perhaps, that the response is proportional.
ARCHBISHOP BROGLIO: Correct.
ED O’KEEFE: That’s to gloss over pretty deep teachings, but essentially, that’s the root of it. I know that after the president, for example, threatened to take Greenland by force, you had said in an interview, it doesn’t seem acceptable to invade a friendly nation, and that such rhetoric tarnishes the images of the United States. You said it would be an illegal and immoral order to kill deliberately the survivors aboard an alleged Venezuelan drug boat if they don’t pose an immediate lethal threat to our armed forces. So given what’s going on in the Middle East, I’m curious. Is the war with Iran justified?
ARCHBISHOP BROGLIO: I would think under the justify- under the just war theory, it is not because while there is a- there was a threat with nuclear arms, it’s a- it’s compensating for a threat before the- the threat is actually- is actually realized. And I think there I would- I would line myself up with Pope Leo, who has been urging for negotiation. I realize also that you could say, well, with whom are you going to negotiate? And that, that is- that is a problem. But in the meantime, lives are being lost, both there and also among our- our troops. So it’s, it is- it is a concern.
ED O’KEEFE: And so if you’re hearing from a service member who says, if your teachings, if your guidance is this is not justified, what am I to do as a Catholic who’s in the service?
ARCHBISHOP BROGLIO: And that- that’s a very good question, because obviously, the way conscientious objection is set up in the United States military, you cannot object to a specific war or a specific action. You can only object to, I’m opposed to war. So I would think it depends on where you are in the- in the chain of command. Obviously, you know, the Marine who’s given an order, he’s not in a position really, to resist that order. I mean, he has to obey unless it’s, it’s- unless it’s clearly immoral. And then he would probably have to speak to his, you know, to his chaplain, to his chain of command. The question might be, would, you know would- would- would generals or admirals have space to perhaps say, can we look at this a different way? But having spoken to some of them too, they’re- they’re also in the same- in the same dilemma. So I guess my counsel would be to do as little harm as you- as you can, and to try and preserve innocent lives.
ED O’KEEFE: And you’re approaching this from a moral perspective. This isn’t a partisan thing. This isn’t ideological for you or geopolitical. It’s- you’re a moral leader, so obviously someone in the service who grapples with this will seek guidance from you and your brother chaplains. How often do they come to talking about how to seek forgiveness, perhaps for being part of this?
ARCHBISHOP BROGLIO: That is actually something we’ve done a lot of work on as an archdiocese, the whole question of moral injury. So, I mean, even if you obey a legitimate command, but you have to kill someone, that’s going to leave some- some traces in, you know, in your- in your heart or- or on your soul. And so there we’ve tried to provide structures and- and help to- to people in that situation, to try and help them heal from those- from those situations. And that’s not a question of making a judgment. It’s just a question of healing the individual who finds himself in that, or herself, in that- in that situation.
ED O’KEEFE: Yeah, you obviously, and- and your- and your brother priests are on Pentagon property taking orders obviously through the military chain of command. There’s been a lot of conversation in recent weeks, separate from the actual war itself, regarding the rhetoric of say the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who openly invokes Jesus repeatedly when talking about the war with Iran especially, and has prayed openly from the Pentagon press room for blessings upon American service members. Obviously his right to pray in public and however he sees fit. But what do you make of- of that sort of focus and- and sort of trying to cast this war as something that perhaps Jesus would justify?
ARCHBISHOP BROGLIO: It’s- it’s a little bit problematic in the sense that the Lord Jesus certainly brought a message of- a message of peace and- and also, I think war is always a last resort. Now, you know, they may have information that led them to think that that was the only choice they had. I’m not making a judgment about that because I really don’t know, but I do think that it’s hard to- to cast this war, you know, as- as- as something that would be sponsored by- by the Lord.
ED O’KEEFE: And that’s certainly something the Pope has suggested himself, right? Not- not commenting on the secretary, but commenting on war generally, that this idea that- that, you know, if you’re praying for the success of the war, what is it he said recently, he said, “God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” That would seem to put a lot of what’s going on right now in conflict.
ARCHBISHOP BROGLIO: It certainly- it certainly would. And I- I turn back to- just to Paul VI, who- who made very few trips outside of- of Italy, but when he did come to the U.N. he made that dramatic appeal, which- which I saw live on television as a- as a little kid. You know, j’aime pas la guerre, j’aime pas la guerre, never again war, never again war. And- and yet, that was in 1965, I think. Now, so many years later, we’re still- we’re still in this situation. So I think- I think I would be in- I think Pope Leo would definitely support saying that, you know, we have to find a situation where men and women can sit down and- and- and find avenues of peace
ED O’KEEFE: In our remaining moments, you obviously minister primarily to Catholic service members, but this is a holy season, Passover underway, Ramadan recently having ended, and ultimately on the battlefield, it doesn’t matter to your brother chaplains, whether they’re Catholic or Protestant or Jewish, what’s the interfaith dialogue like these days, especially at a time of war?
ARCHBISHOP BROGLIO: I think it’s- it’s- it’s very healthy in the sense that there is a genuine desire to collaborate. Actually, I know most of the rabbis in the services, because we frequently travel at the same- the same time. For us, Christmas and Easter. For them, Passover and Hanukkah. And they’re fewer in number, so I certainly get to meet them, but there is a genuine spirit of- of collaboration, and there’s a desire to facilitate the work of- of chaplains. And I think that’s a very- that’s a very healthy thing.
ED O’KEEFE: Well, thank you for being here on this Easter weekend, and thank you obviously, for your service, not only to the country, but to the faith. We appreciate you spending some time with us.
ARCHBISHOP BROGLIO: Thank you. Thank you very much for the opportunity.