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III. SAFEGUARDING PEACE
Peace
2302 By recalling the commandment, "You shall not kill,"
[Mt. 5:21] our Lord asked for peace of heart and denounced murderous
anger and hatred as immoral.
Anger is a desire for revenge. "To desire vengeance in order
to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit," but it is
praiseworthy to impose restitution "to correct vices and maintain
justice." [St. Thomas Aquinas, ST II-II q158, a1 ad3] If
anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously
wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin. The
Lord says, "Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable
to judgment." [Mt. 5:22]
2303 Deliberate hatred is contrary to charity. Hatred of the neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil.
Hatred of the neighbor is a grave sin when one deliberately desires him
grave harm. "But I say
to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that
you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." [Mt. 5:44-45]
2304 Respect for and development of human life require peace. Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited
to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace cannot be
attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free
communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples,
and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is "the tranquility
of order." [St. Augustine, City of God 19, 13,1] Peace
is the work of justice and
the effect of charity. [Cf. Is. 32:17; cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et
spes #78, 1-2]
2305 Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the
messianic "Prince of Peace." [Is. 9:5] By the blood of his
Cross, "in his own person he killed the hostility," [Eph.
2:16; cf. Col. 1:20-22] he reconciled men with God and
made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its
union with God. "He is our peace." [Eph. 2:14] He has
declared: "Blessed are the peacemakers." [Mt. 5:9]
2306 Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to
safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to
the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity, provided
they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and
societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical
and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and
death. [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 78, 5]
Avoiding war
2307 The fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of
human life. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war,
the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that
the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war. [Cf.
Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 81, 4] All citizens and all
governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war.
However, "as long as the danger of war persists and there is
no international authority with the necessary competence and power,
governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all
peace efforts have failed." [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes
79, 4]
2309 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 modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating
this condition.
These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called
the "just war" doctrine. The evaluation of these conditions
for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who
have responsibility for the common good.
2310 Public authorities, in this case, have the right and duty to
impose on citizens the obligations necessary for national defense.
Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of the security and freedom of nations. If
they carry out their duty
honorably, they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and
the maintenance of peace.[Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 79, 5]
2311 Public authorities should make equitable provision for those who
for reasons of conscience refuse to bear arms; these are nonetheless
obliged to serve the human community in some other way. [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium
et spes 79, 3] 2312 The
Church and human reason both assert the permanent validity of the moral
law during armed conflict. "The mere fact that war has regrettably
broken out does not mean that everything becomes licit between the
warring parties." [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 79, 4]
2313 Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must be respected
and treated humanely.
Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its
universal principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such
actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them
out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must
be condemned as a mortal sin. One is morally bound
to resist orders that command genocide.
2314 "Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction
of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against
God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation." [Cf.
Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 80, 3]A danger of modern warfare is
that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific
weapons - especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit
such crimes.
2315 The accumulation of arms strikes many as a paradoxically suitable
way of deterring potential adversaries from war. They see it as the most
effective means of ensuring peace among nations. This method of
deterrence gives rise to strong moral reservations. The arms race does
not ensure peace. Far from eliminating the causes of war, it risks
aggravating them. Spending enormous sums to produce ever new types of
weapons impedes efforts to aid needy populations; [Pope Paul VI, Populorum
Progressio 53] it thwarts the development of peoples. Over- armament
multiplies reasons for conflict and increases the danger of escalation.
2316 The production and the sale of arms affect the common good
of nations and of the international community. Hence public authorities
have the right and duty to regulate them. The short-term pursuit of
private or collective interests cannot legitimate undertakings that
promote violence and conflict among nations and compromise the
international juridical order.
2317 Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride raging among men and nations constantly
threaten peace and cause wars. Everything done to overcome these disorders
contributes to building up peace and avoiding war:
Insofar as men are sinners,
the threat of war hangs over them and will so continue until Christ
comes again; but insofar as they can vanquish sin by coming together in
charity, violence itself will be vanquished and these words will be
fulfilled: "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their
spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more." [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium
et spes 78, 6; cf. Is. 2:4]
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