When five soldiers were shot at Fort Stewart on Wednesday morning, the swift response of law enforcement and the outpouring of prayers from faithful leaders revealed something profound about how our nation should confront violence and tragedy.
The response from Georgia’s leadership modeled the proper relationship between civil authority and Divine Providence. Governor Brian Kemp and Representative Buddy Carter immediately called for prayers alongside their coordination with law enforcement efforts.
This wasn’t mere political theater but a recognition of what Pope St. Pius X taught in his powerful 1906 encyclical Vehementer Nos, declaring that the separation of Church and State is a “most pernicious error” and an injustice to God, who is the creator and founder of societies and deserving of public and social worship.
“Remove the agreement between Church and State, and the result will be that from these common matters will spring the seeds of disputes which will become acute on both sides; it will become more difficult to see where the truth lies, and great confusion is certain to arise,” the great pontiff wrote.
Scripture also reminds us (Romans 13, for example) that governing authorities are instituted by God, and those who serve in our military take on a sacred duty to protect the innocent and uphold justice. The soldiers wounded at Fort Stewart weren’t just casualties of random violence but servants of the constitutional order that our Founding Fathers established under Divine Providence.
When Church and State Properly Cooperate
The coordinated response between federal, state and local authorities demonstrates what the Second Vatican Council called for in Gaudium et Spes, namely cooperation between Church and State while respecting distinct roles. The FBI, Hinesville Police and military command worked together to restore order, while political leaders acknowledged the necessity of prayer and divine intervention for true healing.
The cooperation between Church and state stands in stark contrast to the secular progressive narrative that demands the complete separation of faith from public life. Cultural elites who promote this false separation ignore both historical precedent and constitutional reality. As Columbia Law School Professor Philip Hamburger has documented, the rigid “wall of separation” interpretation has roots in anti-Catholic nativist movements rather than the Constitution itself.
Our military personnel, many of whom are faithful Catholics and Christians, deserve leaders who recognize that spiritual warfare often underlies physical violence. When we strip divine authority from our understanding of civil order, we leave our communities spiritually and politically defenseless against the chaos that follows moral relativism.
The Deeper Battle for Western Christian Civilization
Incidents like the Fort Stewart shooting reveal the spiritual crisis plaguing our nation. For decades, secular progressives have systematically removed Christian principles from public institutions, military training and cultural discourse. The predictable result is a society increasingly prone to violence, despair and moral confusion.
St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas taught that all legitimate authority flows from God and must serve divine justice. When civil authorities acknowledge this truth, as Governor Kemp and Representative Carter did in their responses, they provide the moral clarity necessary for genuine healing and restoration of order.
The rapid apprehension of the shooter and the immediate medical care provided to the wounded soldiers demonstrate that our constitutional system still functions when guided by men and women of principle. But sustainable peace requires more than efficient law enforcement; it demands the moral formation that only comes through robust Christian faith and traditional values.
Our Response as Faithful Citizens
People of faith must recognize that defending our Constitutional Democratic Republic requires both political action and spiritual warfare.
The same forces that seek to expel God from our military bases, schools and government buildings create the moral vacuum that enables such tragedies.
We must pray for the wounded soldiers and their families, as Representative Carter urged. But our prayers must be accompanied by determined action to restore Christian principles to American public life. This means supporting political candidates who understand that religious liberty and constitutional government are inseparable, and opposing those who promote the false gospel of secular neutrality.
Catholic voters and conservative Christians must also demand that our military leadership provide genuine spiritual support for service members. The Heritage Foundation and Family Research Council have documented how religious faith fortifies communities and individuals facing crisis, yet military chaplains increasingly face restrictions on proclaiming biblical truth.
Hope in Divine Providence
Despite the tragedy at Fort Stewart, faithful Americans can take courage from the rapid response and the public acknowledgment of prayer’s necessity. When civil authorities cooperate with divine authority rather than rejecting it, our constitutional system reveals its underlying strength.
The ultimate victory belongs to Christ and His Church, but God calls us to be instruments of His justice and mercy in the temporal order. Every tragedy becomes an opportunity to demonstrate the superiority of Christian civilization over secular alternatives that offer only empty promises of human autonomy.
As we pray for the wounded soldiers at Fort Stewart, we must also commit to the long-term work of cultural restoration. Contact your representatives and demand they defend religious liberty in military settings. Support organizations that promote Catholic social teaching and constitutional principles. Most importantly, live your faith boldly in the public square, refusing to accept the false separation between Sunday worship and weekday citizenship.
Our Founding Fathers established this Republic under God’s Providence, and only by returning to that foundation can we ensure that future generations of soldiers serve in a nation worthy of their sacrifice.
The choice is ours: advance the Kingdom of God through faithful political engagement, or watch secular forces continue their assault on everything we hold sacred.
