FAQ: Just War & the teaching of the Catholic Church

Advocacy of the policy of the United States as conforming to the Just War Doctrine of the Catholic Church.

What is the just war doctrine?

The just war doctrine is a teaching of the Church which in rooted in the teaching of Jesus Christ and developed by saints and others through the centuries to instruct the faithful in the morality ("the justness") of going to war and conduct in a war.

What can be just about war? Aren't all wars unjust?

Catholic teaching on evil is summarized here:

A morally good act requires the goodness of the object, of the end, and of the circumstances together. An evil end corrupts the action, even if the object is good in itself (such as praying and fasting "in order to be seen by men" CCC 1755

So, a human action can be evil when any one of the above are missing.

Is the Just War doctrine vague or only implied or has it been written down?

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church (published in English in 1994) which is a summary of the principle teachings of the Catholic Church we find the following:

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 modem 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.

Another traditional list is this one from The Catholic Encyclopedia edited by Fr. Peter Stravinskas (1991):

The intention of the agent is just
The means are just, proportionate, and discriminate.
Means of last resort
There is proportion between the goods protected by the war and the evils the war brings about.
reasonable prospect of success

What about Jesus teaching to "turn the other cheek"?

Mt 5:38-40 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

Jesus here is referencing the Old Testament / Hebrew Scriptures here: Exodus 21:24;

The intent of this part of the Mosaic Law was to limit vengeance. Here Jesus reverses the idea of personal vengeance.

In the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch write

Jesus forbids the misuse of Mosaic civil law to justify private vengeance. Exodus 21:24 was meant to limit retribution; it was never an invitation to inflict punishment for personal injuries or extend personal vengeance beyond the injury suffered. (cf. Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21) The punishment fit the crime but not exceed it. Jesus eliminates such a policy of retaliation from personal life. (cf. Rom. 12:17)

The bottom line here is that "turn the other cheek" applies more to personal morality than to morality in society.

Why does the name of St. Augustine come up in the discussion of Just War?

St. Augustine lived in the time between the Constantine's Edict of Toleration of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (354-417).

Rome fell in 410 to Alaraic, a Visigoth, although things had been falling apart for years. The pacifism of Christianity was being blamed for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Into this scenario Augustine writes that even in war Christians acting as public authorities are bound by laws of charity and justice.

This abstract appears Florida State University's web site:

The Elements of St. Augustine's Just War Theory
John Langan, S.J.
St. Augustine's just war theory involves eight principal elements:
a punitive conception of war
assessment of the evil of war in terms of the moral evil of attitudes and desires
a search for authorization for the use of violence
a dualistic epistemology which gives priority to spiritual goods
interpretation of Evangelical norms in terms of inner attitudes
passive attitude to authority and social change
use of Biblical texts to legitimate participation in war
an analogical conception of peace.
It does not include noncombatant immunity or conscientious objection. A contemporary assessment of the elements is offered.

St. Augustine also introduces the concept of there being a cause for going to war (jus ad bellum) and conduct of war (jus in bello) as distinct.

How Does the Pope declare a war just or unjust?

The Pope doesn't. It's not in his job description, unless you refer to the Swiss Guard which are under his command.

The idea of the just war doctrine is to inform the faithful of conditions, and it is up to the those responsible for the common good. In other words, our elected leaders, since we are a republic and not an empire.

It's a bit of a simplification, but certain evil is intrinsic, that is some human actions cannot in any circumstances be made just, such as abortion. Other human actions may be good or evil based on circumstances. War is not always evil in this view. Other writers state that a war that has a good objective such as the liberation of a people is good.

Historically, the Pope has called for war. The Crusades were a war with the aim of restoring rights to pilgrimage, securing the Holy Sites of Christendom. Also as the Pope was temporal rule of a large part of Italy from 754 to 1870, he was called to wars of self-defense during this time. Not every act of the Pope is just, of course. However, it is clear that the leadership of the Church was not teaching an absolute pacifism.

What did St. Thomas Aquinas add to the Just War doctrine?

St. Thomas Aquinas developed further the ideas:

only the sovereign can conduct a just war (i.e. against feuds, duels, commercial disputes, etc.)
right intention (for justice and not for expansion of territories)
peace and not vengeance as the object or war

What is the role of the United Nations in the view of the Church?

There are two important principles which apply to the power of the state that will seem paradoxical or in conflict:

(1) Subsidiarity (also spelled as Subsidarity) - -the idea that problems are best understood and solved by the organizations and people closest to them ("smaller is better")

1885. "The principle of subsidiarity is opposed to all forms of collectivism. It sets limits for state intervention. It aims at harmonizing the relationships between individuals and societies. It tends toward the establishment of true international order. "

(2) International Authority -- (i.e. an effective UN or one world government) ("bigger is better") -- so that it can totally eliminate the threat of war.

2308. "All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. However, 'as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.'

Of course, here the Catechism makes the leap of faith that such international authority would combine the love of peace of St. Francis, the sword of Charlemagne, and the desire for unity of Charles V.

The value of the United Nations is not a doctrinal matter. I also don't believe that its own charter provides any legitimacy in itself for the decisions of either the Security Council or General Assembly.

What is the application of the Just War doctrine to Iraq?

Who, according to the Catechism, evaluates the conditions for deciding if a war is just?

2309. ...The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good."...

What exactly is prudence, according to the Catechism?

1806. "Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; 'the prudent man looks where he is going.'[Prov 14:15.] 'Keep sane and sober for your prayers.'[1 Pet 4:7 .] Prudence is 'right reason in action,' writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle.[St. Thomas Aquinas, STh II-II, 47, 2.] It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid."

When it comes to evaluating lasting, grave, and certain with respect to how many / what range Al Samoud 2 missiles have, whatever happened to 26,000 liters of anthrax, 38,000 liters of botulin, 1.5 tons of nerve agent, 6,500 aerial chemical bombs, which were observed by the 1998 UN inspection teams, that's the judgment of the President.

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