CALINAN, Paul John

Family Name:

Calinan

Given Names:

Paul John

Gender:

Male

Birth-date: 1945

Death-date:

Unknown

Marital Status:

Unknown, probably single

Age/ Age Range:

25 years old

Location:

VIC, Carlton

Occupation:

Student

Primary Motivation:

Conscientious objector – religious pacifism

Reason for Court Appearance:

Application for full exemption from military duties

Court Name and Location:

Magistrates Court, Melbourne

Court Hearing Date:

12 February 1970

Court Outcome:

Granted full exemption from military duties

Military Event:

National Service and Vietnam War 1964-1972

Further Information:

Paul Calinan was a student from Carlton, Victoria aged 25 years. He applied for and was granted full exemption from military duties by Magistrate Maloney on 12 February 1970. Paul stated at the court hearing that he had left his own church and studied Buddhism which he found consistent policy on the morality of killing. He claimed that “conventional Christianity has exceptions to the rule ‘Thou shalt not kill’, but Buddhism makes no exception to this rule”. Paul also stated that, “I believe no man has the right to kill another under any circumstances”. He ruled out serving in a non-combatant role when he said, “of non-combatant duties like cooking I’d only be helping the army to work more efficiently, and I will not do that”.

Confirmatory Sources:

The confirmatory source has been temporarily lost.