From our weekly News Notes -
In a recent interview (carried in Vatican News July 1), Pope Francis said in response to a question,
“I believe it is time to rethink the concept of a ‘just war.’ A war may be just, there is the right to defend oneself. But we need to rethink the way that concept is used nowadays. I have said that the use and possession of nuclear weapons are immoral. Resolving conflicts through war is saying no to verbal reasoning, to being constructive. Verbal reasoning is very important. Now I am referring to our daily behavior. When you are talking to some people, they interrupt you before you have finished. We don’t know how to listen to one another. We don’t let people finish what they are saying. We must listen. Receive what they have to say. We declare war in advance, that is, we stop dialoguing. War is essentially a lack of dialogue.”
The “just war theory” is one that has been debated since articulated by St. Augustine and later explicated by St. Thomas Aquinas.
The theory (and some of its implications) is stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
2309 The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:
- the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
- all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
- there must be serious prospects of success;
- the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.
These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the "just war" doctrine.
The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.
2313 Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must be respected and treated humanely.
Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must be condemned as a mortal sin. One is morally bound to resist orders that command genocide.
2314 "Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation." A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes.
Over the years, theologians have debated whether particular conflicts met the criteria. Some conflicts that were deemed just initially were later called into question due to tactics used, the targeting of civilians, shifting aims of the conflict, and more. And there is often confusion due to the fact that in wars both sides often claim their conflict is just. We see that in the current war in Ukraine.
St. Francis himself provided a model of how to conduct “dialogue.” In 1219 during the Fifth Crusade, he crossed the lines to preach the Gospel to the Sultan of Egypt, Malik al-Kamil, who had himself repeatedly made offers of peace to the Crusaders, all of which were rejected. He even offered to return Jerusalem and rebuild its walls, and to return the True Cross, but these offers were also rejected. So he was open to receiving St. Francis. They spoke for several days, and though Francis’s efforts did not bring peace, they did result in Franciscans being allowed to have free access to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and led to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land that continues to this day.
Later, when St. Francis created the Secular Franciscan Order, he included in the first Rule a statement about Secular Franciscans and war.
In the Rule of 1221, Article 16 states, “They are not to take up lethal weapons, or bear them about, against anybody.”
This prohibition on taking up arms led to conflicts with local authorities, who were resentful of the loss of soldiers. There are some historians who suggest this helped to lead to a weakening of feudalism in Italy – and to provide some limits to the frequent local wars.
We see a more recent example in the case of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, OFS, who, though an Austrian, was conscripted into the German Army during World War II. While he did undergo military training, he refused to take the “Hitler oath,” and, after learning about some of the immoral things the Nazi’s were doing, declared himself a conscientious objector when called to active duty. Despite pressure to conform, he refused to relent. He was executed in 1943, a martyr for the faith.
The Holy Father is right in saying that some wars may be just, so we need to keep that possibility open, but given the nature of war today, it is perhaps time to reevaluate the just war theory and how it is applied. And given the models of St, Francis and Blessed Franz, and our own vocation as Secular Franciscans, we need prayerfully to examine our own understanding of the concept.
After all, we follow St. Francis in greeting others with “Pax et bonum” – “Peace and goodwill.”
Pax et bonum
In a recent interview (carried in Vatican News July 1), Pope Francis said in response to a question,
“I believe it is time to rethink the concept of a ‘just war.’ A war may be just, there is the right to defend oneself. But we need to rethink the way that concept is used nowadays. I have said that the use and possession of nuclear weapons are immoral. Resolving conflicts through war is saying no to verbal reasoning, to being constructive. Verbal reasoning is very important. Now I am referring to our daily behavior. When you are talking to some people, they interrupt you before you have finished. We don’t know how to listen to one another. We don’t let people finish what they are saying. We must listen. Receive what they have to say. We declare war in advance, that is, we stop dialoguing. War is essentially a lack of dialogue.”
The “just war theory” is one that has been debated since articulated by St. Augustine and later explicated by St. Thomas Aquinas.
The theory (and some of its implications) is stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
2309 The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:
- the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
- all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
- there must be serious prospects of success;
- the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.
These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the "just war" doctrine.
The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.
2313 Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must be respected and treated humanely.
Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must be condemned as a mortal sin. One is morally bound to resist orders that command genocide.
2314 "Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation." A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes.
Over the years, theologians have debated whether particular conflicts met the criteria. Some conflicts that were deemed just initially were later called into question due to tactics used, the targeting of civilians, shifting aims of the conflict, and more. And there is often confusion due to the fact that in wars both sides often claim their conflict is just. We see that in the current war in Ukraine.
St. Francis himself provided a model of how to conduct “dialogue.” In 1219 during the Fifth Crusade, he crossed the lines to preach the Gospel to the Sultan of Egypt, Malik al-Kamil, who had himself repeatedly made offers of peace to the Crusaders, all of which were rejected. He even offered to return Jerusalem and rebuild its walls, and to return the True Cross, but these offers were also rejected. So he was open to receiving St. Francis. They spoke for several days, and though Francis’s efforts did not bring peace, they did result in Franciscans being allowed to have free access to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and led to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land that continues to this day.
Later, when St. Francis created the Secular Franciscan Order, he included in the first Rule a statement about Secular Franciscans and war.
In the Rule of 1221, Article 16 states, “They are not to take up lethal weapons, or bear them about, against anybody.”
This prohibition on taking up arms led to conflicts with local authorities, who were resentful of the loss of soldiers. There are some historians who suggest this helped to lead to a weakening of feudalism in Italy – and to provide some limits to the frequent local wars.
We see a more recent example in the case of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, OFS, who, though an Austrian, was conscripted into the German Army during World War II. While he did undergo military training, he refused to take the “Hitler oath,” and, after learning about some of the immoral things the Nazi’s were doing, declared himself a conscientious objector when called to active duty. Despite pressure to conform, he refused to relent. He was executed in 1943, a martyr for the faith.
The Holy Father is right in saying that some wars may be just, so we need to keep that possibility open, but given the nature of war today, it is perhaps time to reevaluate the just war theory and how it is applied. And given the models of St, Francis and Blessed Franz, and our own vocation as Secular Franciscans, we need prayerfully to examine our own understanding of the concept.
After all, we follow St. Francis in greeting others with “Pax et bonum” – “Peace and goodwill.”
Pax et bonum
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