In a message sent for the occasion of Remembrance Sunday, celebrated this Sunday, Bishop Thomas M. Burns said that "in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in other conflicts around the globe, our nation owes a huge debt of gratitude for the sacrifices made by so many in our forces today, and indeed for the sacrifices made by their families too."
Contending that "the risk to life and limb facing every serviceman and woman on operations has increased," the prelate said "the state's duty of care in return has increased, but sometimes is found wanting."
"Offering the minimum is not enough: not in wages, nor in equipment, nor in housing, nor in medical care," Bishop Burns added. "I call upon the government not only to extend what they have already offered, but to go that extra mile in providing even better support and care for our troops."
The 63-year-old bishop noted improvements had been made in equipment and housing, as well as in other areas.
But he called for "extra sacrifices to be made by the government, in recognition of the sacrifices made by serving personnel and their families."
Family aid
Bishop Burns called attention to the aid offered to the families of those in the armed forces, saying that it is sometimes neglected for "other more visible areas of public life, important as they are."
"Only a lump-sum injected without delay will bring positive effects to the quality of life and support that a family gives to one of its own in the forces -- now, at a time of conflict, rather than waiting until later," he said. "We should never forget that when members of the forces go to war, their families go too, every day in their hearts, until their loved ones come home, alive or dead, healthy or injured."
The Irish-born prelate lamented that not everyone injured during time in the armed forces has access to medical care.
"It may not be until a year or two has passed that chronic suffering catches up unawares," the bishop said. "By then the serviceman or woman may have left the forces, and is deprived of the support that previously came from the military environment, in the form of camaraderie, and the specialist, holistic care that would previously have contributed to a speedy recovery. The support that families give meanwhile is hidden and undervalued, because the focus is on active servicemen and women."
"Just as we call for so much unstintingly from our men and women in uniform, and from their suffering families, let us as a nation call on the government -- and on all parties -- to have a greater human understanding of what families are actually experiencing," Bishop Burns concluded. "Let everyone be unstinting in stating that never was so much owed by so many to so few."
ZE07110704 - 2007-11-07