- Feb 5, 2002
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These are the real ethical questions that “war today” poses. But these questions are not new.
In his January 14th Angelus remarks, Pope Francis uttered a sentence that deserves thorough analysis and—in my view—is deeply problematic. Talking about military conflict across the world, particularly in “Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel,” Francis said: “In other words, today war is in itself a crime against humanity” (emphasis in original Vatican text). The original: “In altre parole: oggi la guerra è in sé stessa un crimini contra l’umanità.”
What did Francis mean? To adapt Cardinal Pell’s phrase: “Franciscus locutus, confusio augetur” (Francis has spoken, the confusion grows).
Is war “in itself a crime against humanity?” Such a statement is utterly alien to the Catholic moral tradition, which speaks of “just war.” If there is such a thing as a “just” war, war cannot be “in itself” evil. That is not to deny that war has bad consequences and should be avoided, if possible; but that is a profoundly different thing from saying war itself is always wrong.
There are circles in the Vatican and the broader Church that want to scrap just war theory and identify the Catholic position with functional pacificism. I reject those efforts for two reasons.
First, it would require the Church to repudiate her teaching, declaring that what she once deemed just under certain conditions is no longer just. Second, it would deprive Catholic public officials of an ethical framework by which to engage in a defense of countries for which they are responsible, essentially making them morally incapable of preserving their nation’s rights and freedom.
No doubt, the Angelus remarks will be spun, focusing on the “today” (oggi): war today is a crime against humanity.
But what is it about “today” that is novel in the history of warfare, rendering war “in itself” unjust? Francis does not tell us. He implies “it sows death among civilians and destroys cities and infrastructure.”
Continued below.
www.catholicworldreport.com
In his January 14th Angelus remarks, Pope Francis uttered a sentence that deserves thorough analysis and—in my view—is deeply problematic. Talking about military conflict across the world, particularly in “Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel,” Francis said: “In other words, today war is in itself a crime against humanity” (emphasis in original Vatican text). The original: “In altre parole: oggi la guerra è in sé stessa un crimini contra l’umanità.”
What did Francis mean? To adapt Cardinal Pell’s phrase: “Franciscus locutus, confusio augetur” (Francis has spoken, the confusion grows).
Is war “in itself a crime against humanity?” Such a statement is utterly alien to the Catholic moral tradition, which speaks of “just war.” If there is such a thing as a “just” war, war cannot be “in itself” evil. That is not to deny that war has bad consequences and should be avoided, if possible; but that is a profoundly different thing from saying war itself is always wrong.
There are circles in the Vatican and the broader Church that want to scrap just war theory and identify the Catholic position with functional pacificism. I reject those efforts for two reasons.
First, it would require the Church to repudiate her teaching, declaring that what she once deemed just under certain conditions is no longer just. Second, it would deprive Catholic public officials of an ethical framework by which to engage in a defense of countries for which they are responsible, essentially making them morally incapable of preserving their nation’s rights and freedom.
No doubt, the Angelus remarks will be spun, focusing on the “today” (oggi): war today is a crime against humanity.
But what is it about “today” that is novel in the history of warfare, rendering war “in itself” unjust? Francis does not tell us. He implies “it sows death among civilians and destroys cities and infrastructure.”
Continued below.
Is war “in itself” immoral?
www.catholicworldreport.com
