A Sober Reflection

On Just War Teaching and Pacifism from Nathan at Quo Vadis. Although he stoops to the scare-term "Neoconservative", on the whole Nathan delivers a measured assessment of the challenges of interpreting war.

In particular, he asks the hard questions of pacifists that too often go unasked by our reasonable elites:

What, for example, do pacifists propose that we should have done about Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany? What, for example, do pacifists propose that we should have done about imperial Japan? The former killed six million Jews in addition to invading other European countries and trying to conquer Britain; the latter dropped bombs on American soil and took American lives. Were we supposed to sit down with the leaders of these nations and chat over tea? Could doing nothing really have been the moral thing to do when faced with the annihilation of six million Jews and countless others? Did our government have no responsibility to protect American citizens from imperial Japan?

I would add that under no obligation are Catholics required to be pacifists. Nothing that John Paul the Great said could be construed as an infallible definition of doctrine regarding pacifism. Just War Doctrine has not been superceded. I agree with Nathan that we must be careful when applying this Teaching. Political exploiters of every persuasion try to manipulate such teachings to suit their own ends. Responsible Fools won't let that happens. Among Foolables of either spectrum of the political axis, I've seen attempts to dress up their ideologies in the garments of doctrine. Certain commentors would have Catholics believe that pacifism is the only legitimate response Christ allows. Others would say it's only those in charge of government can make just war determinations, so we must not question our leaders' judgements on these matters. Both of these positions contradict Church teaching. Whether pacifists like it or not, Just War Doctrine exists, which means that war is not intrinsically evil. Whether warphiles like it or not, the Catholic Social Teaching principle of participation in society--especially in democracies or republics--means that ordinary citizens are responsible for the governments that make just war determinations. Therefore, citizens need to consider the application of JWT in light of the information they possess on the situations at hand. There's no room for a just-trust-Big-Brother attitude.

When will pacifists answer the tough questions Nathan proposes? Until they do, they can't expect to be taken seriously, either as citizens or as Fools.