Analysis: while Christianity praises peace and rejects any form of violence, the Catholic Church accepts that war can sometimes be justified
There is no doubt that wars since ancient times have been horrendous events with innumerable unpleasant consequences. Of course, the Christian position on the matter could not be more different, as Christianity is utterly pacifist and despises any form of violence, considering any human life sacred.
Reading the Old Testament, the truth is that one cannot identify definite teaching against war, as even the infamous command "Thou shalt not murder" (Exodus 20:13) of the Decalogue could not be taken as such. In contrast, war seems to be even acceptable in the Old Testament, as it is mentioned many times and the truth is that Hebrew history contains a long list of wars that either led to the destruction of Israel because it lost its faith or were fought with the help of God Himself.
Nevertheless, Jesus, who, without abolishing it, renewed the Law, urged people to love everyone, even our enemies (Matthew 5:44) and praised peace on many occasions. In the Sermon on the Mount, for example, he preached, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9), while, after his resurrection, he saluted his disciples repeatedly using the phrase "Peace be with you" (John 20:19-26). Finally, Apostle Paul, following the teaching of Jesus, many times urged people to live in peace, such as his exhortation to the Romans, "if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:18).
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Based on these, one could say that, for Christianity, war is a sin that should never be committed and that there could never be a justified war. The Catholic Church, however, based on the "just war" theory, accepts war conflicts if certain conditions are met. The essential position of the theory was stated by the Second Vatican Council's document Gaudium et Spes, which articulated that, under certain criteria, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense.
Just war theory, therefore, in its essence, means that a war could be justified if it is defensive or preventive but, throughout the centuries, its criteria have been further developed. These criteria are divided into two main categories: Jus ad Bellum, (the right to go to war), the criteria for waging a just war, and Jus in Bello, (the right conduct in war), the criteria that refer to how war should be conducted. Let's take a look at the conditions that belong to each one of these categories.
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Jus ad Bellum entails seven conditions. These are: 1. Just Cause, according to which, war must be conducted only for serious reasons, such as to protect innocent lives or to preserve basic human rights, 2. Legal Authority, meaning that war must be waged not by individuals or private groups, but only by specific state orders, 3. Right Intentions, meaning that war must aim at the pursuit of peace and reconciliation, 4. Probability of Success, which requires careful calculations in order for the irrational resort to force or hopeless resistance to be prevented, 5. Last Resort, according to which, prior to the war, every peaceful alternative should be first exhausted, 6. Proportionality, meaning that the expected benefit of the war must be proportionate to the damage done and the costs incurred by it, and 7. Comparative Justice, which asks which party in a dispute is sufficiently "right" and whether values, rights, and justice should justify the killing of the other.
If, not one or some, but all of these conditions are met, then going to war is acceptable.
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From RTÉ Archives, discussing the Church and modern society at the third session of the Second Vatican Council (first broadcast 25 September 1964)
As for the criteria of the ethical carrying-out of warfare, for the Catholic Church, there are two. The first one is Discrimination, for which, the indiscriminate attack on combatants and civilians is considered unfair. Only the killing of military targets is just, while innocent persons may never be directly and intentionally targeted. Finally, the power used should be proportionate to the damage caused and the possible good that may arise. In other words, no one should cause death, if the object of war can be accomplished by mere injury. This is the condition of Proportionality in Jus in Bello. If these two aforementioned criteria are met, the war is being fought justly.
The great ancient Greek historian Heraclitus once said that war is the father of all things and the truth is that this idea is widely accepted and supported by many historians until today. However, what Christianity has to answer is that the father of all things is the God of peace. And exactly because the Christian God is the God of peace, then war, murder, and violence of any form are rejected, while peace is praised and honoured. However, if the aforementioned conditions are met, the moral obstacles are bypassed and the Catholic Church could justify participation in a war conflict.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
