"A defeat for humanity" is how John Paul II characterized the Iraq conflict. The Vatican rejected the arguments of neoconservatives, who sought to replace the "just war" theory that had ruled the Church since the time of St. Augustine with their own preemptive war doctrine, a throwback to the pagan era. As Bush and [Blair] prepared to go to war over nonexistent "weapons of mass destruction," the Pope sent a message to Roman Catholic military chaplains attending a Vatican-sponsored course on humanitarian law expressing the great "comfort" given to him by the antiwar movement, which was taking to the streets in massive numbers: "It should be clear" at this point in human history, he declared, that a "large part of humanity" has rejected war as a means of resolving conflicts between nations. (Self-defense, he averred, is another matter). Hailing the "vast contemporary movement in favor of peace," the Holy Father backed up his rhetoric with action, calling on Catholics to fast in protest against the coming war and sending a diplomatic mission to Baghdad." (From Antiwar.com)
Cardinal Ratzinger: "A preventive war is not in the Catechism."
Michael Novak: Hired to Try to "Undermine Pope John Paul II's Position"
Richard John Neuhaus in a time of war.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
John Paul II on the War in Iraq
From TCRnews Musings
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3 comments:
There are good and bad arguments against the Iraq war (as David and I have discussed in a couple emails), but these musings from TCR fall more into the latter than the former.
First, JPII referred to war in general as a "defeat for humanity," something which puts a completely different spin on the statement than if he were referring just to the Iraq war.
Second, the "neocon" arguments were not in opposition to Just War theory; I highly recommend this article by James Turner Johnson on the tradition of just war theory.
Again, serious questions can be raised about the justice of the war; these musings don't strike me as those.
War!
Good God!
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing.
Christ is Risen!
Welcome Keir to my blog. I appreciate your comments. I have added your blog to my blog list. Chris comments are brilliant as always.
A few short comments are due here.
1. I was unaware you could do a hyper-link in the comments, but it's makes sense. Thanks Chris. (I'm an idiot when it comes to all things blogging.)
2. I have found Cardinal Ratzinger statements on the War in Iraq helpful. I will make a main post of his comments. In summary, he stated that preventative war (when there is no grave or immediate danger) is an unacceptable development of the Just War Theory. He was explicit in saying that it was not the proper authority... The Vatican's position was it belonged to the U.N.. He also felt that the War in Iraq would cause greater evil than good.
3. I would recommend any article by Stanley Hauerwas.
4. In regards to our conduct in the War, I would refer you to the following article.
The War in Iraq - How Catholic conservatives got it wrong
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