c. 2003 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) A U.S. Army inquiry has determined that a Southern Baptist chaplain in Iraq who reportedly was giving baptisms to dirty soldiers has not been using coercion.
“I am confident that Chaplain (Josh) Llano does not, has not and will not use coercion in the exercise of his official responsibilities,” said Chaplain (Col.) Al Buckner, director of operations at the Army’s chief of chaplains office at the Pentagon, in a statement.
A report from the Knight Ridder news agency about Llano’s possible exchange of baptisms for baths prompted strong criticism from organizations concerned about church-state separation.
That news story stated that the 32-year-old chaplain, who described himself as a “Southern Baptist evangelist,” told a reporter: “It’s simple. They want water. I have it, as long as they agree to get baptized.”
A statement from the U.S. Army’s Office of the Chief of Public Affairs said Llano does not recall making such a statement.
“He did make some of the remarks the reporter attributed to him, but not all to her, and not in the context or with the intent the article appeared to suggest,” the statement reads.
The Army said soldiers at Camp Bushmaster were not suffering from a water shortage and the chaplain was only given water for baptism after water needs of the soldiers were met.
“Soldiers had no need to resort to being baptized to get clean,” the Army said.
Mark Seibel, managing editor of The Miami Herald, defended the original story by Meg Laughlin, a Herald reporter who is covering the war in Iraq for the news agency.
“I don’t think the story suggested coercion,” he said. “That’s just how some people want to read it. … We stand by the story as it was written. He made the remarks that he made and Meg was not the only person who heard them.”
The military service said the chaplain recently has conducted 57 baptisms at the base camp, but most were for Christian soldiers who wanted to be baptized as a reaffirmation of their faith or because they had never previously taken part in the rite.
The Army also said that there was no coercion to attend Bible study, a daily voluntary activity.
“Significantly, no soldier at Camp Bushmaster has complained or commented that the chaplain coerced anyone in any way,” the statement adds.
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Eric Wester, spokesman for the Army chief of chaplains office, said the Army report was based on information from a commander, public affairs office and supervisory chaplains in the region.
“There will be no action taken by the Office of the Chief of Chaplains toward Chaplain Llano,” he told Religion News Service.
Martin King, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, said the Army’s findings demonstrate that there may have been a misunderstanding between Llano and a reporter.
“Our faith in the integrity and competency of Southern Baptist chaplains is reaffirmed by the investigation,” said King, whose board is the chaplain-endorsing agency for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
Groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State had criticized the reported actions and suggested that Llano should be reined in or removed.
The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United, said: “I’m delighted that the Army officially says this previously reported conduct would be unacceptable but I’m perplexed at the response because the comments from the chaplain himself seemed to confirm the inappropriate coerced baptisms.”
King said Llano, a lieutenant and Houston native, had served in the military as a drill sergeant and a chaplain’s assistant for about a decade before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been an active duty chaplain for about one year.
“He knew what chaplains did and the ministry they gave to the service members and felt called to be a chaplain, so he went to seminary and went back in as a chaplain,” King said.
_ Kevin Eckstrom contributed to this report.
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