Catholic Church Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Catholic Church - Essay Example Therefore, it is very rare that one can find in the Catholic tradition a simple answer to complex issues related to war and violence (Gremillion 1976). The pacifist view relies on the values of Gospel and views war as intolerable act that can never be justified. The core of this view is the transcendence of God and the dignity of the human being which reflects the presence of God in the world. Consequently, the Church shall take efforts to protect dignity of each human being. Since life is the realm of God, life of every person is sacred and must be protected. In fact, this view is the founding principle of Christian religion that led its earliest followers to the pacifist stance and refection of violent behaviors under any circumstances and situations, including resolution of conflicts (Pastoral Constitution, 1966). Origins of the just-war theory can be traced back to the fourth century when the Christian faith had finally turned into the official religion of Rome. At that time, the Roman Empire faced massive challenge from the Vandals whose attacks grew increasingly aggressive and threatening. Since the pacifist non-violent nature of the Christianity barely justified involvement in the warfare, St. Augustine of Hippo made an attempt to provide theological justification for violence. Augustine's teaching became known as the just-war theory (Walzer, 1977). Another outs... war must be declared by the authority of the state; there must be a just cause; the intention must be just; war must be the last resort; only right means may be' employed in the conduct of war; there must be a reasonable hope of victory; the good to be achieved must outweigh the evils of war (Shannon, 1983) Recently four more circumstances have been set forth in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to provide moral underpinning for a war, namely: 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, that is, war must be waged as a last resort; there must be serious prospects of success; the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Art. 2302-2317). The example of how the just-war principles are applied in practice was provided by the Catholic Church over the last two decades. Thus, the Gulf War and a war in Iraq that was proclaimed morally justifiable by its proponents met strong opposition from the Vatican. In January 2003, Pope John Paul II stated in the Address to the Diplomatic Corps that "War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations.war cannot be decided upon . . . except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions" (Owen, 2003). Pope Benedict XVI also supported this view claiming that "reasons sufficient for unleashing a war against Iraq did not exist [because] proportion between the possible positive consequences and the sure negative effect of the conflict was not guaranteed. On the