Never Ending Wars and Military Conflicts

 

Dear Parishioners,

As I write this, the USA is involved in a military conflict with the nation of Iran. I have lived long enough to know that war is not a moral good in and of itself and that there must be a just cause to be morally involved in one. Since the time I was a child I recall conflicts in areas surrounding Vietnam, Korea, Central and South America, Bosnia (former Yugoslavia), the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Israel, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Ukraine, Gaza, Venezuela, and now once again Iran. This is not an all-inclusive list by any means. These are just some of the places I can currently recall (and am aware of) as I write. There never seems to be an end to war and military conflict somewhere in the world.

This is what The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) #2309 states about war:

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 modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

Let’s also look at Catholic Just War Theory according to St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas Aquinas systematized the Church’s teaching on Just War in his Summa Theologiae, (II-II, q. 40, De bello). He laid out three essential conditions for a war to be considered just:

• Legitimate Authority (auctoritas principis): War must be declared by a lawful sovereign, not by private individuals.
• Just Cause (causa iusta): There must be a real and grave reason, such as defense against aggression or rectification of grave injustice.
• Right Intention (intentio recta): The goal must be to advance good or avoid evil, not vengeance or conquest.

St. Thomas emphasizes that even with these conditions, war remains a sad reality, not a virtue. The aim is peace, not perpetual conflict.

At this time I recommend continual prayers for peace—especially the Holy Rosary. We should also pray continually for those brave men and women protecting and serving our country in the military.

I believe that the intercession of Our Lady is essential for us to obtain true and lasting peace. Her apparitions and various messages—especially at Fatima—have warned us the war is a punishment for sin and that her Rosary is our greatest weapon against such moral evils.

Pray, pray, pray.

Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor