The ongoing conflict in Iraq has brought attention again to the just war doctrine.
Though Catholic scholars and theologians shaped the idea over centuries, St. Augustine is generally considered its leader. He’s linked to the creation of criteria by which nations can determine whether an impending conflict is moral or necessary.
“Just war doctrines emerged from a long tradition of moral reflections on the realities of war,” said Laurence Bove, retired professor emeritus of philosophy at Walsh University. “From Aristotle, Thucydides, Socrates and Plato, to Cicero and St. Augustine, from Thomas Aquinas to Erasmus, Vitoria and Grotius.
“The doctrine survived the Divine Right of Emperors and Kings, and entered into the modern world as international law. It took its place beside the realm of Natural Law and Divine Law as its own entity. In the modern era, the just war doctrine is part of international law, the charter of the United Nations, the Geneva Conventions, and the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice.”
The Catholic church deemed the doctrine important enough that it is included in the Catechism, which details the church’s beliefs and polices.
Pope Leo XIV is a member of the Order of St. Augustine. Founded in 1244, it is based on the teachings of its namesake.
Magnifica Humanitas
But in his first papal encyclical, the new pontiff rejected the just war doctrine, calling it “outdated” amid concerns about emerging technology, and the theory being misused by some as an excuse to wage war.
“Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness,” the pope wrote.
Dan Toussant, founding president of Pax Christi Stark County, agrees. He calls just war doctrine “an archaic invention to defend the linkage of church and state.”
“If you read its qualifiers to get to a ‘just war’ rationale, if there ever was a legitimate argument, with nuclear weapons our reality, and war so uncontrollable once it starts, I agree with (Pope Leo’s predecessor) Pope Francis that nuclear weapons are inherently evil, and war is not a justifiable position for Christians who believe the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ are Jesus’ guide on how to live,” he said.
Toussant added that he thinks religious zealotry has been the driving force behind too many world conflicts.
“When we link religion and politics too tightly, as is common in the world today, raw power overtakes justice and fair-minded leadership,” he said.
Focused, contained, limited and controlled
Prior to his work as campus pastor at Malone University, the Rev. Randy Heckert served as an Army chaplain from 1982 to 1988.
Heckert, who is retired from Malone and the military, admits that the idea of the just war doctrine is something he long has struggled with, but said it provides a moral framework for conflict to be “focused, contained, limited and controlled.”
“War, violence, hostilities are rooted in the human condition of self-centeredness, self-advancement, self-gratification,” he said. “The philosopher Immanuel Kant once wrote: ‘The state of peace among men living side by side is not the natural state; the natural state is one of war.’ This does not always mean open hostilities, but at least an unceasing threat of war.”
Heckert said he believes in the idea of “peace through strength” as a war deterrent.
“This has been my experience in the military,” he said. “Paradoxically, I also hold that war is the ultimate insanity. And yet, it is sometimes necessary when a Hitler, or a rogue regime, emerges. I believe it was (Dietrich) Bonhoeffer who used (the analogy of) ‘if a madman is driving his car through crowds of children, should the madman be stopped by any means available?'”
Bove, the retired Walsh professor, said just war doctrine rests on two fundamental elements − “jus ad bellum,” which defines a just action; and “jus in bello,” which outlines acceptable conduct during war.
Bove said jus ad bellum requires a reasonable possibility of success that would leave a community better off. There also must be proportionality, and violence must be a last resort only after all other avenues have been exhausted.
“This is the difficulty we see today when wholesale bombing of civilian areas, hospitals or schools are done with the understanding that the adversary hides among the innocent,” Bove said. “Killing the innocent to get to the adversary cannot violate the proportionality of how many combatants were killed vs. how many civilians are killed.”
Bove said jus in bello outlines acceptable conduct.
Philosophy professor: Moral compass, but not sufficient
In his encyclical, Pope Leo XIV noted that humans have always benefitted from technology, but expressed deep concern about the growing reliance of it during war.
Bove said technology increasingly poses an ethical dilemma.
“What is happening is a normalizing of violence against enemies perceived and real,” he said. “Letting A.I. plan attacks of missiles and drones at the same time are changing the face of warfare drastically and rapidly. If left to programming, who discriminates, who determines what’s acceptable?”
Bove said just war doctrine is being rethought as an analytical tool and as a law to be adjudicated.
“If violence is not the normal state of things, if human beings are not meant to live in the midst of bombing and death, then the just war doctrine as law and morality gives leaders and combatants a potential to resolve or prevent the violence of warfare. It provides combatants with a moral compass,” he said. “But the just war doctrine is not sufficient in itself. Building peace is the real starting point.”
Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Can ‘just war doctrine’ guide modern nations’ conflicts?
Reporting by Charita M. Goshay, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charita M. Goshay, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
