Amidst the persistence of violent global conflicts, consideration of just war principles is ever-needed. Given the Christian origins of the just war tradition, these time-tested principles become even more relevant when parties to a conflict cite religious motivations for their actions.
Few religious traditions have considered just war theory as extensively as members of the Roman Catholic Church, as seen in Catholic University of America’s Institute for Human Ecology recently-held second Annual Lecture on Catholic Political Thought. In this year’s lecture, “Thomism Goes to War,” Dr. Gregory M. Reichberg of Peace Research Institute Oslo expounded on the Roman Catholic just war tradition.
After summarizing the origins and basic tenets of Thomistic just war theory, Reichberg notes that St. Thomas Aquinas – a major figure in both Medieval history and the just war tradition – did not often apply his writings on just war to actual wars, instead keeping his examination of the topic in the realm of the theoretical. He suggests that some of Thomas’s writings about war may have nonetheless been motivated by life experience, as he belonged to a military family and likely had a brother executed during a conflict between Frederick II and Pope Innocent IV.
Reichberg noted that there has been debate throughout Catholic history about whether dying for one’s country ought to be considered martyrdom. Reichberg summarizes that according to Thomas, “service to one’s country in a just war is indeed a morally good act, and if uplifted by charity, this act will be meritorious. In other words, conducive to eternal life on par with the other naturally good acts we carry out in our daily lives: teaching school children, providing medical care for the sick… these just warriors who die in the process may very well be received into heaven, but they will not merit the aureola [halo] of martyrs.” Reichberg quotes, however, Thomas’s nuanced position that “if someone sustains death defending his country against the attack of an enemy who is endeavoring to undermine the Faith of Christ, then that person will merit the aureola and he will be a martyr.”
Reichberg went on to note several historical examples of Catholics claiming to use just war principles under dubious circumstances, especially in Spain, Argentina, and Chile during the twentieth century. These arguments, often using “holy war” terminology, were countered by Catholic thinkers like Jacques Maritain. Reichberg noted the increasing return of holy war ideas in recent years, affirming Maritain’s arguments that “while [these ideas] might have had legitimacy within a sacral conception of political society, this can no longer apply among the conditions of secularity that characterize modern Christianity’s relations with the temporal sphere.” The former conception viewed faith as “the primary bond of unity between citizens.” Because of this, “attacks against the Christian polity were extension taken to be attacks against the Faith.” Reichberg, following Maritain, said this no longer applies today, as we now ground our civic unity in human dignity and not Christian faith.
Maritain’s rejection of holy war did not, Reichberg highlighted, entail a rejection of just war. Instead, he argued that war against Nazi Germany was just, as the Nazi cause was “about a broader agenda of aggression which had the elimination of bedrock moral and spiritual values in Western society as its main aim.” Reichberg noted, however, Maritain’s belief that church leaders ought not encourage even just wars, as “nothing is more antipodal to the Church – the kingdom of God that begins on earth and reaches its fullness in Heaven – than war,” and the promotion of just wars by church leaders could stir up problematic holy war thinking.
Following Reichberg’s remarks, three other Catholic scholars provided brief responses to his lecture. Dr. Andrew Latham on just war theory after World War II, Dr. Valerie Morkevičius teased out how emotions and virtue relate to Thomistic just war thinking, and Dr. Daniel Philpott (whose remarks were read in absentia) further discussed natural and supernatural ends in the Thomistic tradition.
Reichberg’s lecture provides a helpful introduction to many lesser-known topics and issues related to just war theory in the Catholic tradition. While some of these – like Aquinas’s beliefs about halos and salvifically meritorious acts – are primarily relevant to Catholics and not especially compelling to those of us in Protestant traditions, we should still glean a broader lesson from these discussions. While many of our neighbors and fellow churchgoers think, speak, and post about contemporary conflicts like the wars in Ukraine and Israel with preconceived religious and political assumptions which cloud the actual details of these conflicts and how we ought to respond to them, we must be more careful. The examples of Aquinas and Maritain instead teach us that prudence is our goal, both in military action and in speech regarding it.
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