WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A just war is hard to justify. Convincing people to embrace the idea might be even more difficult.
The church has long set high the bar to a morally acceptable war. Currently the Vatican, the World Council of Churches and nearly 50 denominations are on record opposing military action in Iraq.
Sadly, their opinion might not matter. The church seems to have lost its power to mold public opinion.
As if to acknowledge their impotence, most religious leaders insist that the United Nations Security Council, not religious norms, be the authority to sanction action taken against Saddam Hussein.
The consensus of a gaggle of nations is a new addition to the ancient criteria for moral warfare. A just cause for using lethal force is the primary issue on that list.
Most scholars agree that St. Augustine initially wrestled with the problem of a just war in the fourth century. Catholic teaching evolved over eons of increasingly violent warfare, according to a 1993 statement by the United States Catholic Conference on peace and justice.
Force may be used only to correct a grave evil such as the violation of the basic rights of an entire population or to defend against a critical threat to a nation’s peace.
The good to be achieved must significantly outweigh the destruction needed to accomplish it.
Although both parties might have legitimate concerns, the injustice to be addressed by warfare must be significantly greater than anything suffered by the other party.
No more force may be used than is absolutely necessary. Civilians may never be the object of an attack.
Ultimately, force may only be used as a last resort and only after all peaceful alternatives have been seriously explored and exhausted.
As in so many religious issues, the conditions necessary to justify war are open to interpretation. That makes the authority of the interpreter critical. The church has little.
Roman Catholics routinely ignore their church’s teaching about birth control. Many disagree with its stand against the death penalty. They will not easily accept a “just war” argument from leaders whose direction they nonchalantly disregard on other vital questions.
Protestant leaders also try to sway the opinion of their flocks, but they are split asunder. Most oppose a war, but some evangelists, including the ethics commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, strongly support the idea.
Divided and discredited leadership will convince no one — even when it’s right.