From Priest To Civilian Warrior For Peace

Charles Liteky was the son of a U.S. Navy seaman. Similar to other military children, he lived in many areas of the country, including Hawaii, San Diego and Florida. Eventually, Liteky found himself in Silver Spring at the minor seminary of a religious community known as the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity.

In his posthumously published autobiography, Renunciation, Liteky explains his life-long pilgrimage. The journey delivered him to the priesthood. Soon after, he decided to become a chaplain in the U.S. Army. When he saw combat for the first time, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroic actions to save the lives of many men. During 1986, Liteky decided to return that medal, placing it at the base of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. His memoir then continues to explain his life as a peace activist.

Renunciation is available on Amazon.com in paperback and ebook. The book also can be ordered directly from the new Charles Liteky website. Learn more about the Charles Liteky story on the website and follow on Facebook.

“Throughout this book, Charlie’s voice speaks loud and clear for the silent and those who have been silenced,” said Joseph J. Fahey, a retired professor of religious studies at New York’s Manhattan College and a friend of Liteky, who passed away this past January. “It is a challenging story for anyone in the military, for religious and for all of us. We hope that Charlie’s pilgrimage will inspire others to act when necessary and have the personal courage to change.”

Religious Life

Referring to the Catholic seminary in Silver Spring, Liteky explained in his book that he “chose this particular community because of an association with the Missionary Servant priest who provided religious services for Catholics attending a summer camp atop Lookout Mountain, Mentone, Alabama, where I was working. He was different from any priest I had ever met, free of clerical hubris, just an ordinary man with the attractive gift of humility. When I shared my feelings about the priesthood, he encouraged me to honor them and give the seminary a try.”

Liteky was delivered to the steps of the seminary by the same man who predicted that he would not last there more than six months. He proved his father wrong by completing two years at the minor seminary, six years at the major seminary and one year of intense spiritual training.

Liteky volunteered to serve as a military chaplain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He also was a war hawk, following the path to destroy Communism that also was blazed by the Catholic Church. His heroic actions to save lives on a specific day with the 199th Infantry Brigade earned him the nation's highest military honor.

After the war, Liteky left the priesthood and also became horrified at violence around the world. He decided to renounce his medal, possibly the only recipient to return the Medal of Honor. He also decided to work with courageous women and men to oppose U.S. military strategies around the world, including American foreign policy in Central America. Liteky was arrested twice and served prison sentences for civil disobedience.

Many years later, Liteky summed up the reasons for his heroic actions during the war and the heroic actions to defy authority after the war. Simply, he said, he was just there “to save lives.”