Moral Injury Webinar Series

 

Next webinars

 

Thursday 25 September 2025

Tony Wright (Forward Assist):
Debating history, healing the present: Forward Assist’s debating society and moral injury

7pm BST | 8pm CEST | 11am PDT | 2pm EDT

About this session

Tony says, "Moral injury has become one of the most difficult and least understood consequences of military service. Unlike physical wounds, it cannot be seen on the surface of the body, and unlike post-traumatic stress disorder, it does not always present through flashbacks or hyper-vigilance. Instead, moral injury gnaws at the very core of identity, creating an inner rupture between who a person believed they were and what they did, saw, or failed to do, during military service. For many veterans, both men and women, the struggle is less about surviving external danger than about coming to terms with the choices, compromises, and tragedies that military service forced upon them.

"Forward Assist, a veteran support charity based in the North East of England, has responded to this need with a uniquely innovative programme: The Veterans Debating Society. Here, veterans gather not to confess, not to be analysed, and not to relive trauma, but to engage in structured debate on historical and military-themed topics, many of which touch on precisely the kinds of moral dilemmas that generate injury in the first place.

"By debating events from history, wars long past, controversial campaigns, or questions of military ethics, participants find a safe yet challenging way to explore the issues that haunt them in their own memories. The debating society transforms what might otherwise remain silent and corrosive guilt into shared inquiry, performance, and dialogue. In the process, it creates a space where healing becomes possible.

"It is my view that debate training could be applied in multi-disciplinary settings to create structured, respectful dialogue around difficult subjects that risk moral injury, by fostering critical thinking, empathy for opposing perspectives, and clear argumentation that helps participants navigate ethical tensions without escalating conflict."

About Tony

Tony Wright joined the Royal Marines in 1978 and was medically discharged in 1981 after seriously injuring his shoulder during basic training. Tony established Forward Assist (2013) & Salute Her UK (2021) to address unmet needs in the veteran community.

Tony originally started work in the service charity sector when he created About Turn CIC in 2009 to support veterans involved with the Criminal Justice System. Following a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowship in 2011 (which involved a six-week research trip to the USA) he changed his direction of travel and began to focus on supporting combat veterans who had difficulty accessing trauma informed care and support.

Over the last seven years he has been particularly supportive of veterans with lived experience of Military Sexual Assault (MSA) and now struggle with Moral Injury, Post Traumatic Stress and Military Sexual Trauma (MST).

A Qualified and Registered Social Worker, Former Probation Officer, and Home Office Adviser with 42 years’ experience of working in a variety of senior management positions within the social welfare and voluntary sector, Tony describes himself as a political activist, campaigner, and agent of change. He lives a life led by commitment, compassion and being of service to others.

Join us

All welcome. To receive the Teams link, please register for the webinar via Eventbrite.

 

Thursday 16 October 2025

Shannon Allen (doctoral researcher at the University of Northumbria Newcastle with a background in forensic psychology) 
Potentially morally injurious event exposure among Service Police and Non-Service Police veterans

7pm BST | 8pm CEST | 11am PDT | 2pm EDT

 

Wednesday 12 November: Robbins Lecture 2025

Aaron Fuller
"Church or chaplain?" Nurturing faith in a time of conflict and moral injury

6pm in Durham (venue TBC), with a 7.30pm drinks reception for further discussion
Also online: 6pm GMT | 7pm CET | 11am PST | 2pm EST

About the session

It seems across the world, societies are divided along every ideological line right now: social, cultural, political, and religious. Conflict arising from these divisions seems to be escalating from civil expressions to hate speech, bullying, violence, and even war. Looking to history, these phenomena are not unique to our time and place. However, they are no less devastating. 

Attempting to restore unity, today’s religious institutions and communities seem to mirror the ideological extremes that contribute to, rather than heal, conflict and division among people. It has caused many to abandon organised religion in favour of personalised forms of spirituality, if they choose to pursue any at all. Many, like American Sociologist Christian Smith, have wondered, “Has religion become obsolete?” What is the church’s response and mission today?

In this lecture, Aaron will suggest that moral injury lies at the heart of societal conflict and divisions. Mapping moral injury along two main trajectories, weaponisation and pathologisation, he will explain how moral injuries are exploited to fuel hatred and serve the interests of persons and institutions seeking control of, rather than unity among, people. Furthermore, he will highlight that religious institutions are not immune to such interests and can perpetuate moral injuries in the same manner.

Aaron will offer that the church’s response and mission in our current times is rooted in pastoral care. By re-emphasising pastoral care in its mission and ministry, the church and communities of faith invite people into a theo-ethical posture of seeking and experiencing healing with the divine and with one another. He will envision the praxis of pastoral care that heals moral injuries that cause conflict and division as chaplaincy. Drawing from current research, work, and his experience in chaplaincy, Aaron will offer possibilities for the church and communities of faith to usher in individual and collective approaches to moral repair and healing.

About Aaron

Aaron is an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), having primarily served in congregational settings. He also serves as a Chaplain in the United States Navy Reserve, having served in several Reserve and Active Duty assignments. Prior to ordination in 2013, Aaron served for 9 years as a submarine warfare officer in the United States Navy on active duty. His interest in moral injury is in clinical and structural forms, with a particular interest in the church and military contexts.  

Join us

All are welcome to attend this free public lecture, named after and introduced by the Venerable Stephen Robbins, former Chaplain General of the British Army (2008-2011) and Archdeacon for the Army in the Church of England (2004-2011). 

If you are in Durham, UK, on 12 November 2025 we hope you will join us in person and stay around afterwards for informal discussions over drinks. The lecture will also be streamed online for those unable to join us in person.

To be notified when registration opens, please join our mailing list. 

 

Tuesday 2 December 2025

Timothy Mallard (retired US Army Chaplain, Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Birmingham Theological Seminary, and Visiting Fellow at St Chad’s College in 2024-25) 
Moral and spiritual injury in war: Russo-Ukraine, Israel-Iran, and beyond

7pm GMT | 8pm CET | 11am PST | 2pm EST
Organised in partnership with St Chad's College

 

Videos from previous webinars

Please note that only the talks are recorded. Webinars include around 45 minutes audience discussion that is not recorded.