Editor chats about newly published journal of Catholic Civil War chaplain

In the latest edition of "Catholic Military Life"--a podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA--Pat Hayes tells the fascinating story of a Redemptorist Catholic priest who served on the confederate side during the American Civil War. Father James Sheeran, C.Ss.R., was chaplain to the 14th Louisiana Regiment of the Confederacy. With historic confederate monuments now coming down in New Orleans, the topic is particularly timely. Irish-born Sheeran (1817-1881) was one of only a few dozen Catholic chaplains commissioned for the Confederacy and one of only two who kept a journal. Mr. Hayes has now edited and published Father Sheeran's journal in a new volume, called "The Civil War Diary of Father James Sheeran." (Catholic University Press of America, 2016.) Highlighting his exploits from August 1, 1862 through April 24, 1865, the journal tells of all the major events of his life in abundant detail: on the field of major battles, in the hospitals, and among Catholics and Protestants whom he encountered in local towns, on the trains, and in the course of his ministrations. Perhaps more significantly,it opens a window on the pastoral dimension of a chaplain's service in America's bloodiest war.