WASHINGTON, DC — America’s top military officer generated a firestorm of criticism last week when he called homosexual acts immoral and said that the military should not condone them.

Gen. Peter Pace, USMC, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, later said that he should have “focused less on my personal moral views,” but he did not apologize for his remarks to the Chicago Tribune.

“I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it’s okay to be immoral in any way,” said Pace, a Catholic.

The armed services instituted a policy when Bill Clinton was commander-in-chief that allows men and women with same-sex attraction to become soldiers and sailors. But the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy asks that they keep their sexuality secret.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group for homosexuals in the military, expressed outrage at the general’s remarks. Spokesman Steve Roth called them “insulting to gay and lesbian military members who are serving their country at great sacrifice” and said that part of the problem is the deceit called for in the military rules.

“The SLDN is absolutely opposed to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and calls for its immediate repeal. It’s interesting that openly gay and lesbian British soldiers have served in Iraq with U.S. forces and there has not been one complaint about a service member feeling uncomfortable nor have there been any incidents,” Roth told the Register.

But Sen. Brownback led an effort by senators to praise General Pace’s remarks.

“General Pace’s recent remarks do not deserve the criticism they have received,” said his Senate letter. “In fact, we applaud General Pace for maintaining a personal commitment to moral principles.  He has demonstrated great leadership during a very difficult time and he continues to do so today.”

Pace, 62, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Teaneck, N.J., by Italian-American parents. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967 completed The Basic School, MCB Quantico, Va., in 1968, and rose through the ranks, collecting degrees, commendations and medals, along with rapid promotions. He was appointed chairman of the Joints Chiefs in September 2005, the first “leatherneck” to hold the post.

Pace’s comments reflect the teaching of the Catholic Church.

“Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered,’” says the Catechism in No. 2357-8. “They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstance can they be approved.”

Yet, the Catechism continues: “The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”

The Archdiocese for the Military Services serves more than 675,000 Catholic men and women in uniform, counting reservists and Coast Guard members. The 1,000 Catholic chaplains of the archdiocese have been led for the past 10 years by Archbishop Edwin O’Brien.

“I just wonder why and how some public figures can express their private opinions about the morality or immorality of things like homosexual activity, and others can’t. I don’t think it’s a matter of being in uniform, because Gen. Pace has made it clear in his past service that he has upheld the law,” Archbishop O’Brien said.

The archbishop also took issue with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network’s stand on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, saying that there is “virtual unanimity in the military” that the law works and that “morale would suffer without it.” He also said that homosexual actions or the promotion of homosexual agendas are not problems in the armed services. Pace, he said, is suffering under an atmosphere of intimidation and political correctness “that is over the top right now.”

Based on Pace’s statement, though, an observer might think that the general himself is not much weighed down by the atmosphere the archbishop mentioned. The Marine said that his upbringing leads him to “believe that certain types of conduct are immoral,” including faithlessness in marriage. When adultery occurs within the military community, he said, the military command prosecutes it. The line should not be drawn at heterosexual relationships.

“I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral,” he said, “and that we should not condone immoral acts.”

Roth, of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, felt that Pace crossed an important line when “he injected his personal opinion into a political debate.”

Lt. Col. Michael Wagner disagrees. He’s retired now, after serving 25 years in both the Army and Air Force. He said that homosexual advocates such as the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and the secular news media miss an important point in their wrath.

“The Uniform Code of Military Justice is designed for the general good of the military,” Wagner said. “The military is a unique creature; it’s an environment where your life may be dependent on someone else’s and where a natural bonding takes place. That’s difficult to occur where homosexuals are. It’s demoralizing.”

Wagner thinks that Pace not only had a right to speak his mind, but an obligation to do so.

“After all, he is the adviser to the president and secretary of defense,” he said, “so if he sees immorality affecting the military, he has to speak out.”

Paul A. Barra is based in

Reidville, South Carolina.