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War and Peace

About Just War Theory

The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace: US Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's most recent statement on Just War [1993]

World Day of Peace Message 2006: Pope Benedict XVI
Peace is not to be seen “as the mere absence of war, but as a harmonious coexistence of individual citizens within a society governed by justice, one in which the good is also achieved, to the extent possible, for each of them.”

World Day of Peace Messages 1979-2005: Pope John Paul II

Toward a Responsible Transition in Iraq: Bishop Wenski, Chair, Committee on International Policy, USCCB
“Calling for a national civil dialogue that will lead to a responsible transition in Iraq, the Chairman of the Committee on International Policy of the USCCB said such a dialogue can help our nation chart a course of action that meets both the “moral and human dimensions of the situation in Iraq.”

 


 

Just War Theory – What the Church Teaches About War

In 1983 in The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response, the US Council of Catholic Bishops wrote "Faith does not insulate us from the daily challenges of life but intensifies our desire to address them precisely in light of the gospel which has come to us in the person of the risen Christ."  "Peace is the fruit of order. Order in human society must be shaped on the basis of respect for the transcendence of God and the unique dignity of each person, understood in terms of freedom, justice, truth and love."  In their pastoral letter the bishops state that in every situation we encounter we must presume peaceful settlement over war. Every nation has a right to defend itself against aggression, but offensive war of any kind is not morally justifiable.  Indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas and their civilian populations is never permitted. 

The ongoing cold war and escalation of nuclear weaponry was the catalyst for the writing of The Challenge of Peace.The bishops state, "The crisis of the moment is embodied in the threat which nuclear weapons pose for the world and much that we hold dear in the world.  We have seen and felt the effects of the crisis of the nuclear age in the lives of the people we serve.  Nuclear weaponry has drastically changed the nature of warfare, and the arms race poses a threat to human life and human civilization which is without precedent."

 

Ten years later the bishops issued a second letter on the anniversary of their first pastoral letter.  In The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace the bishops renewed their call to peacemaking in a dramatically different world. "The "challenge of peace" today is different, but no less urgent. Although the nuclear threat is not as imminent, international injustice, bloody regional wars and a lethal conventional arms trade are continuing signs that the world is still marked by pervasive violence and conflict."

We strongly urge you to read the US Conference of Catholic Bishops position on war and peace in The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace .

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