Just-War Reflections Randall Smith
The next synod might or might not deal with the Church’s “just war” doctrine. So, let me go on record as saying: I don’t like war. It doesn’t represent a great “profile in courage” to say that. I mean, who loves war? I suppose some tyrants do. But that poses a problem. If tyrants pursue wars in order to secure their positions of power, what are others who hate war to do?
The Church has long defended the legitimacy of wars of self-defense. But recent proclamations from certain sectors of the Church seem to verge on pacifism, the view that all war is wrong. Perhaps this simply means all aggressive wars by tyrants are wrong. That would not be a new or especially troubling teaching. It would be a welcome change if we could get tyrants to abide by the principle.
But I am still wondering about other possible causes of war.
So, for example, the United States went to war against England in 1812 for a number of reasons, but chiefly because the British Navy would stop U.S. ships at sea, search their crews, and “press” into service on British ships anyone who couldn’t
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