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"Who better than you, dear soldiers and members of the police, young men and women, can testify to the violence and to the disruptive forces of evil present in the world? You fight against them every day: indeed, you are called to defend the weak, to protect the honest, to foster the peaceful coexistence of peoples. The role of the sentinel, who scans the horizon to avert danger and promote justice and peace everywhere, befits each of you.... To each one of you, I express my heartfelt appreciation for your dedication and generous commitment.... Thank you, dear friends, for your courageous work of peacemaking in countries devastated by senseless wars. Thank you for the help you offer, heedless of risks, to people struck by natural disasters. How numerous are the humanitarian missions in which you have been involved in recent years! In carrying out your difficult duty, you frequently find yourselves exposed to dangers and demanding sacrifices. Ensure that all your interventions always cast light on your authentic vocation as 'custodians of the security and freedom of your fellow-countrymen', who 'are contributing to the maintenance of peace', according to the felicitous expression of the Second Vatican Council" - Pope John Paul II
Gaudium et spes, n. 79
Excerpt from Homily, Jubilee of the Armed Forces and Police
November 19, 2000 |
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THE CATECHISM OF THE CHURCH
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CCC 2308: All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. However, “as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.” (GS 79,4) CCC 2309: The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:
- 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;
- there must be serious prospects of success;
- the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weights very heavily in evaluating this condition.
These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the “just war” doctrine.
CCC 2310: Public authorities, in this case, have the right and duty to impose on citizens the obligations necessary for national defense. Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of the security and freedom of nations. If they carry out their duty honorably, they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of peace. CCC2239: It is the duty of citizens to contribute along with the civil authorities to the good of society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom. The love and service of one’s country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity. Submission to legitimate authorities and service of the common good require citizens to fulfill their roles in the life of the political community.
Bishop Fulton Sheen: Where do we get our rights and liberties which we have to defend? They have a source. Where do I get the right to free speech? Where do you get freedom of conscience, freedom of religion? If you get them from the state of New York, the State of New York could take them away. Do you get your rights and liberties from the Federal Government in Washington? If you got your rights and liberties from the Federal Government in Washington, the Federal Government in Washington could take them away. Our Founding Fathers had to face this question, and it was one of the very first that they answered. The sought for some basis and ground of human rights and liberties, and they found it and set it down in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence: It is a self-evident principle that the Creator- the Creator- has endowed man with certain inalienable rights. They cannot be taken away. And among them is the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness USCCB: American Catholic servicemen and women and their chaplains are likewise called conscientiously to fulfill their duty to defend the common good. To risk their own lives in this defense is a great service to our nation and an act of Christian virtue. Terence Cardinal Cooke: Love of our country does not mean forgetting the rest of the world. It does mean thanking God for giving her the strength to sustain those in the world who cannot protect themselves; for giving her the courage to hold fast to principles in a world of profit and loss; for giving her an eagerness to look in new directions in a changing world. Patriotism esteems the generosity to reach out to the poor, the oppressed of the world and to take them into our hearts. May God make our nation grow in those qualities and lead us to grow with her. |
