INBOX INSPIRATIONS
August 27, 2025
Just War – 1
Dear Friends,
The continued wars between the Israelis and the Palestinians in Gaza and between Russia and Ukraine have led me to reflect on the morality of war. Different sources give slightly different numbers, but the current conflicts have taken the lives of many and injured many others.
For example, in the initial attack of October 7, 2023, 1,195 Israelis were killed, and of that number, 895 were civilians. In addition to those numbers, to date, 898 Israeli soldiers have been killed. On the other side, 61,000 Palestinians have been killed. Half of these were women and children and 8,900 of them were fighters.
The full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022. So far, 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and another 390,000 have been injured. There have been 13,000 civilian deaths with another 35,000 civilians injured. For Russia, estimates range from 118,000 to 250,000 military personnel killed with another 800,000 wounded.
The continuation of these wars, coupled with the large loss of human life and high numbers of injuries have led me to think about warfare from a moral perspective. This is my focus here.
The Church has recognized that sometimes, regrettably, engaging in warfare is necessary and moral. The Church has recognized the need for public authorities to provide for national defense and even require individuals to participate in this. It is important to note here that we have also taught respect for those who in conscience refuse to bear and use weapons. The Church calls for these persons to serve the human community in some other way.
If engaging in warfare seems necessary, the Church has established certain principles that are to be followed in arriving at this decision and in conducting the warfare. These principles have been developed over centuries and find their roots in the theological reflections especially of Saint Augustine (354-430) and Saint Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274). These moral principles are called the Just War Doctrine.
It is important to emphasize that the Church sees evils and injustices inevitably arising from warfare. It teaches that all governments and citizens are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. Next week, in the Inbox Inspirations of September 3, I will look at the principles that constitute the Just War teaching.
Fr. Michael Schleupner
Primary source for the above is The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
September 3, 2025
Just War – 2
Dear Friends,
Last week’s edition of Inbox Inspirations introduced the Catholic Church teaching about war. The Church acknowledges that sometimes war seems necessary. However, this is an extremely serious matter because evils and injustices will always arise from warfare. For this reason, over many centuries, the Church has developed what is called the Just War Doctrine. There are four essential conditions, all of which must be met, for warfare to be justified.
But first, we need to be clear that the Church is teaching about defensive wars – a country resorting to military action for its legitimate defense. The Church never calls an aggressive act of warfare morally justified. An aggressive act of warfare always seems to be immoral and not justified.
Having said that, here are the principles for the moral justification of resorting to war.
v The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or nations must be lasting, grave, and certain. So, the damage that would be or is being inflicted will have enduring negative consequences. These must be serious, like the subjugation or even extermination of people. And it must be clear that these consequences will result if the aggressor is allowed to go unchecked.
v All other means to put an end to the aggression must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective. For example, diplomacy and negotiation must have been tried and failed.
v There must be serious prospects of success. In other words, engaging in war as a defense of one’s country must have a definite possibility of succeeding in deterring the aggressor and the evils that would be inflicted. This principle seems to flow from the reality that engaging in war, even if morally justified, will bring loss of life and human suffering. So, it is worth doing this only if there is a serious prospect of success in warding off a greater evil.
v The fourth principle follows from what precedes it. The use of arms must not produce evils that are graver than the evil to be avoided. The power of modern destructive weaponry enters into the evaluation of this condition for a just war.
These reflections will be continued in nest week’s Inbox Inspirations, September 10.
Fr. Michael Schleupner
Primary source for the above is The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
September 10, 2025
Just War – 3
Dear Friends,
The last two issues of Inbox Inspirations (August 27 and September 3) have looked at the Catholic teaching on Just War. You can access these through the link below. Today’s column has some additional reflections on this topic.
In a just war, prisoners must be treated humanely, and care must be provided for the wounded. To the fullest extent possible, the loss of life must be limited. The protection of life must remain a guiding principle.
Additionally, in a just war, non-combatants or civilians must not be targeted. There must be respect for the lives of private citizens. Any act of war that is directed at cities or other areas where many people live is immoral and merits condemnation. This must be especially emphasized today with the availability of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons.
So, even if engaging in war is justified, there are these additional limits and moral principles.
Finally, Pope Saint John Paul II expressed deep concern about the Just War doctrine and the existence and possible use of nuclear weapons. While he never rejected the Just War doctrine, he expressed skepticism about its applicability in today’s world. He stated that the threat or use of nuclear weapons contradicts the moral principles of 1) proportionality (that there must be some proportion between the good to be achieved and the evils to be allowed in warfare) and 2) discrimination (that non-combatants or civilians must not be targeted). He saw the Church as needing to be a prophetic voice by insisting on non-violent conflict resolution, dialogue, and diplomacy.
Pope Benedict XVI reiterated Pope Saint John Paul’s thoughts about the Just War doctrine and nuclear weapons. He added that the nature of modern warfare, especially with weapons of mass destruction, makes it nearly impossible to satisfy the traditional conditions for a just war. Furthermore, he questioned whether the strategy of nuclear deterrence can be morally justified any longer.
Pope Francis embraced the teachings of his two predecessors and appears to have taken them a step farther. He called into question even the possession of nuclear weapons as part of a strategy of deterrence and called upon all world leaders to pursue disarmament. The Catechism of the Catholic Church raises the same concern about policies of deterrence and the accumulation of arms.
Fr. Michael Schleupner
Primary source for the above is The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Also, various statements by the three Popes who are mentioned.
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