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What does the Church teach about ‘just wars’?

With the current uprising war or warlike conduct of Russia against Ukraine, it makes sense to revisit the Catholic teaching on if and when going to war is ever justified.

The Catholic Church has always emphasized peace over violence. Many examples are cited throughout Scripture. There is a presumption that binds all Christians that we should do no harm to our neighbors. How we treat our enemy is the greatest example of our love for our neighbor. However, the Church acknowledges special circumstances where evil and injustice exist that provoke a response which requires a legitimate defense.

As early as the fifth century, St. Augustine of Hippo was considering the moral consequences of war. He was one of the first to articulate a philosophical statement on war and justice, known as the Just War doctrine. St. Augustine laid the groundwork for the just war theory but he also did so with caution. Writing in 418 A.D., St. Augustine said; “Peace should be the object of your desire; war should be waged only as a necessity…in order that peace may be obtained.”  Since that time, the Church has used his teachings as a basis for determining when just force is necessary to protect the innocent.

Over the centuries, the Church has developed this doctrine.  The Second Vatican Council represents Augustine’s classical account placing much greater emphasis on the avoidance of war and offering a very forceful condemnation of the use of contemporary weapons of mass destruction (Gaudium et spes, 80).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2309) provides the following criteria in order for a war to be considered just:
 

• 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.

The Church is one of the greatest forces of peace in the world, which is why she is so careful when weighing these monumental decisions.  The avoidance of war is always the number one objective.  However, the Church recognizes there is evil in this world that refuses a doctrine of peace.



Author Bio:
Deacon Dan Vaughn