A Just War

War has been part of the human condition since the beginning of time.  In the passage from the Letter of St. James we read this week, he asks his listeners to consider the cause of war.  Our Christian response is to always attempt to turn away from violence.  The US Bishops wrote, "The Christian tradition possesses two ways to address conflict: nonviolence and just war. They both share the common goal: to diminish violence in this world" 

Christian nonviolence does not consist in surrendering to evil - as some incorrectly interpret "turn the other cheek" (Luke 6:29) - but in responding to evil with good.  Because loving our enemy is at the core of Jesus’ message, nonviolence is not merely an outward behavior of the believer, but the attitude of one who is not afraid to confront evil with the weapons of love and truth alone. 

The Catholic Church’s teachings on war, and when war can be considered just, developed very early.  The Fourth Century bishop, St. Augustine of Hippo was the first Christian writer to describe the four conditions that must be met in order for a war to be just.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church still teaches these conditions, they are:

1.   the damage inflicted by the aggressor must be lasting, grave, and undeniable;

2.   all other means of putting an end to the conflict, including sincere diplomatic efforts, must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;

3.   success must be a serious prospect; and,

4.   the use of arms must not produce evils greater than the evil to be eliminated.

These are hard conditions to fulfill, because the Church teaches that war should always be the last resort.

The decision to enter a war is up to the civil authorities.  But Holy Mother Church prays that those responsible for the common good use prudential judgment.  That means the government must make certain that a war is just before they fight it; and that it remains just after the battle has begun.  We also pray for those in the military who serve in harms’ way and support them physically, emotionally and spiritually while they fulfill their duty.

The Catechism also says that the power of modern weapons weighs very heavily in deciding whether a war is just.  Because chemical, biological and nuclear weapons are always a concern in modern warfare, Pope John Paul II suggested that the threshold for a just war has been raised very high.  Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, went even further, stating in 2003 that "we must begin asking ourselves whether… with new weapons that cause destruction that goes well beyond the groups involved in the fight, it is still [valid] to [think] that a 'just war' might exist."

As James was trying to tell his first readers, war is never the answer.  Peace must be sought at all costs.