Just War Theory Should be Abandoned, Says Conference Hosted by Vatican

The Catholic Herald (UK) ^ | 4/15/16 | AP

[marshmallow]

Conference attendees called for a new way of thinking 'consistent with Gospel nonviolence'

Participants at a conference hosted by the Vatican have called for the Catholic Church to renounce its just war doctrine and for Pope Francis to write an encyclical on nonviolence and “just peace.”

In a closing statement, attendees at the conference, which was sponsored by the Vatican’s justice and peace office and Pax Christi International, the Catholic peace movement, said that too often the doctrine had been used to justify and endorse military action rather than prevent it.

Church teaching has long allowed for “just wars” — the use of force to stop an unjust aggression — as long as certain conditions are met. They include that other peaceful means have been exhausted, that the force is appropriate and won’t produce worse effects, and that there is a reasonable chance for success.

But the participants called for the church to no longer use or teach “just war” theory, for the church to instead develop a new peacemaking framework “consistent with Gospel nonviolence,” and for Francis to articulate it all in a new encyclical.

“The time has come for our church to be a living witness and to invest far greater human and financial resources in promoting a spirituality and practice of active nonviolence and in forming and training our Catholic communities in effective nonviolent practices,” the statement said.

Francis, named after the peace-loving St. Francis of Assisi, has echoed his predecessors in condemning wars and promoting peace. He hosted a marathon prayer vigil to stave off threatened military action in Syria, brought the Israeli and Palestinian presidents together for a peace summit, and issues near-weekly appeals for peaceful ends to conflicts around the globe.

[Arthur McGowan]

I put “the worst priests he can find” in quotes because it was a quotation from someone in the Vatican. Saw it a year or so ago, somewhere.

[opus1]

I figured you meant something like that. Sadly, those words seem to be confirmed almost daily by some bishop or priest coming out with a statement or idea that would have probably had them excommunicated (or maybe sent to a quiet monastery) in past times!