If they had been trained as Christians instead of Catholics they would not have laughed at all. They would not be in the military to begin with. A Christian cannot even train to kill.
So, are you saying that taking a stand on violence and bloodshed as a follower of Christ is absurd?
Absurd to whom?
No Christian can be a patriot....we are citizens of God's kingdom, which means we have no sanction to fight for any earthly kingdom....just as Jesus said "my kingdom is not of this world".
Being 'friends of the world make us enemies of God'.....this is what the priests failed to teach. (James 4:4)
That response is probably what I have come to expect from those who want to justify the unforgivable. The soldiers all had the freedom to make "the choice" but the church did not give them any.
They preached them into the conflicts, not out of them.
The Catholic hierarchy in Germany were complicit in the murder of their own 'brothers' on the battlefield....as were those on the opposing side....so whose side was God supporting? (Isa 1:15)
Would Christ want the sacraments given to murderers?
Taking innocent lives makes one a murderer. Tell me what war does not involve the death of innocents? How many innocents were murdered in the Nazi death camps? How many innocents died in allied bombing raids? Every one of them will require an accounting. God does not give any human permission or sanction to kill innocents as if they were mere collateral damage in accomplishing some human agenda. Human wars are seldom fought for the common good of anyone.
BTW...I am not a "he".