Pope Francis: 'I Believe it is Time to Rethink the Concept of a Just War'

Catholic News Agency ^ | 7/1/22 | Courtney Mares

[marshmallow]

Vatican City, Jul 1, 2022 / 10:26 am In an interview published Friday, Pope Francis said that he believes it is time to rethink the concept of “just war.”

“I believe it is time to rethink the concept of a ‘just war.’ A war may be just, there is the right to defend oneself. But we need to rethink the way that the concept is used nowadays,” Pope Francis said.

“I have said that the use and possession of nuclear weapons are immoral. Resolving conflicts through war is saying no to verbal reasoning, to being constructive. … War is essentially a lack of dialogue.”

The pope spoke in an interview that was conducted on June 20 by Télam, Argentina’s national news agency. A 1-hour video of the interview was published on July 1.

In response to a question about how the lack of dialogue is an aggravating factor in the current state of world affairs, the pope said that there is “an entire infrastructure of arms sales” that supports war today.

“A person who knew about statistics told me, I don't remember the numbers well, that if weapons were not manufactured for a year, there would be no hunger in the world,” he said.

Pope Francis described how he cried during visits to war cemeteries in Europe, including the Redipuglia World War I memorial and Anzio World War II cemetery in Italy.

“And when the anniversary of the landing in Normandy was commemorated, I thought of the 30,000 boys who were left dead on the beach. They opened the boats and said, ‘get off, get off,’ they were ordered while the Nazis waited for them. Is that justified? Visiting military cemeteries in Europe helps one realize this,” he said

[scott7278]

“You can rest assured that God always forgives, and we, men, forgive every now and then. But nature never forgives. It pays us back.

Is nature independent of God's sovereign hand? By no means!

[NWFree]

I think it’s time to reimplement the concept of a righteous Pope 🤪

[Wuli]

I believe it’s time, actually way past time, to rethink the concept of popes in Christianity.

[vpintheak]

The Poofter Pope pontificates poop.

[dadgum]

Evil man, that Anti-Pope.

[Antoninus]

Let’s face it. At times it sounds like he’s willing to re-think the whole Christianity thing. :-/

[alexander_busek]

I have said that the use and possession of nuclear weapons are immoral.

Yeah, the U.S. dropping the Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was "immoral." Should have instead invaded the Japanese home islands according to "Operating Downfall" - which would have cost millions of Japanese and American lives.

Pope understands nothing about military strategy and should keep his mouth shut on the subject.

Regards,

[Grey182]

Hitler killed fifty-five hundred priests. Get your facts straight.

[BitWielder1]

How do you reason with the unreasonable?

[dfwgator]

Maybe Mussolini should have just marched into The Vatican.

[Nifster]

Go read the history
The Roman church not only was friendly with Hitler but when the war was lost it helped many a NAZI escape

[TECTopcat]

History does not say that, revisionist have tried that lie of the Church being friendly with Hitler, no one who is fact based believes that. There was one cardinal who helped some ex nazis get visa as he was more afraid of communism then, -same intent as USA did and a lot less than we did did under protestant presidents by h helping former Nazi AND SS member Wernher von Braun and 1,600 other Nazis as part of operation Paperclip-they were treated as royalty -given $s, housing jobs, hell as late as 1960 von Braun had served as director of the newly formed Marshall Space Flight Center-not as advisor . Under protestant president Ford in 1975 he was given the National Medal of Science.

[Loyalist]

His rethinking of the concept will somehow not exclude the Argentine invasion of the Falklands: On the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, he addressed Argentinian veterans and deemed that the Argentine forces were “defending” the homeland.

He said: “We come to pray for those who have fallen, sons of the homeland who set out to defend his mother, the homeland, to claim the country that is theirs and they were usurped.

“Many young people were there and could not return. Others returned but none could forget.

“Many scars, many families destroyed by permanent absence or a return cut short. The country needs to remember them all.

Source

[Caipirabob]

Cool, I'm just grateful our fore bearers re-thought the concept of the Church.

Some of the finest people I know on the planet are Catholic, but they despise this pope and what has happened with the church. Most have moved to become non-denominational Protestants. Vast majority of those are Latino.

[Nifster]

It is not revisionist history

You are being willfully ignorant

[Grampy126]

“I believe it is time to rethink the concept of a Woke Pope”

[SauronOfMordor]

“Those who beat their swords into plowshares

Will plow for those who don’t.”

[left that other site]

“A person who knew about statistics told me, I don't remember the numbers well, that if weapons were not manufactured for a year, there would be no hunger in the world,” he said.

I don't think this memory is about an actual person. I think Pope Francis may have seen it on a bumper sticker somewhere. I recall a similar one:

____________________________________________________
WHAT A DAY IT WILL BE
WHEN OUR SCHOOL BOARDS HAVE ALL THE MONEY THEY NEED
AND THE AIR FORCE WILL HAVE TO HAVE A BAKE SALE TO BUY A BOMBER.
_____________________________________________________

It's been around for a while, and is not an original thought, albeit simplistic, self-righteous, and puerile.

[The_Media_never_lie]

Have you seen the COEXIST stickers?

Nice sentiment, but it doesn’t work. Imagine COEXISTing with the Taliban.

[Beowulf9]

“That would be unwoke”.

Maybe that is what Peter will say when this guy approaches those Pearly Gates.