As war wages in Ukraine, Father Patrick Dolan, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville, traveled to Kyiv, the capital of the Eastern European nation.
He was there on a mission to help train dozens of National Guard chaplains and cadets to recognize and offer support to people affected by post-traumatic stress disorder and moral injury.
Father Dolan, a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army, spent nearly three decades caring for soldiers as a chaplain. He is now an ecclesiastical assistant to the Apostolat Militaire International (AMI), a lay apostolate of Catholic military personnel that organized the training.
“The Ukrainian society is striving to thrive within an uncertain environment. Many of the military described their attitude as simply hoping to survive from day to day.”
— Father Patrick Dolan
The apostolate is an international group that strives to bring Catholic ideals to the military, “encouraging all those devoted to serving their homeland and doing their duty in a manner that will truly help to bring peace,” its website says. It is recognized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life. And its members advise the pope on various matters, said Father Dolan.
He was in Ukraine from March 29 to April 7, where he served in collaboration with Dutch psychiatrist Dr. Eric Vermetten, an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder and moral injury.
“The Ukrainian society is striving to thrive within an uncertain environment,” said Father Dolan. “Many of the military described their attitude as simply hoping to survive from day to day.”
Skyscrapers dot the city of Kyiv, populated by about 2.5 million people. Damaged buildings are everywhere, evidence of the war, he said. But there are also signs of life. Some buildings have been repaired, and though it’s safer during the day, Father Dolan said he saw many young people out in the streets on a Sunday evening “trying to live a normal life during a time of war.”
The soldiers fighting in the war all have some form of PTSD with varying symptoms, such as hypervigilance, said Father Dolan. Others suffer from moral injury, a type of trauma that occurs when individuals are forced to do things that violate their conscience, he said.
Ukrainians are experiencing these things, as they’re forced to defend their country, he said.
While “just war” criteria can explain why those actions need to be taken, he said, “From the perspective of the person pulling the trigger, it’s another human being. It violates the basic human sense that life has value because you’re made in the image of God.”
The goal of the training is for the individuals to heal mentally and spiritually, said Father Dolan.
The training concentrated on three areas:
- Developing an awareness of the symptoms of PTSD and moral injury.
- Overcoming the stigma of seeking treatment for mental health problems.
- Discussion of various methods of healing — spiritual and medical, some of which can be practiced with peers or with a chaplain. They also discussed just war theory to address feelings of guilt.
