Topics

Genocide in Gaza: A Chronicle of Misery

Inez Fitzgerald Storck

We do not have to follow the logic of the Israel-Hamas conflict to make a moral judgment about the targeting of civilians.

Clarifying Our Thinking about the Holy Land

SOME HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Thomas Storck

It is time our government took seriously its purported commitment to peace and began the hard work of undoing decades of violence and counterviolence.

Neocon Hubris & the Battle for Ukraine

EVER THE WARMONGERS

Pieter Vree

Pat Buchanan warned in 1999 about expanding NATO to include Ukraine: “By moving NATO onto Russia’s front porch, we have scheduled a 21st-century confrontation.”

Unmasking Putin’s Rasputin

ON RESISTING EVIL BY FORCE

Jason M. Morgan

If, God forbid, the need should arise, is it licit for a Christian to resist evil by force, to take up a weapon and kill an aggressor?

Moving Beyond Nuclear Pro-Choice

DETERRENCE IS MORALLY UNACCEPTABLE IN ITS VERY FOUNDATION

Julianne Wiley

The fact that some arguments against strategic nuclear deterrence are faulty does not permit the conclusion that there are no compelling moral arguments against it.

Re-evaluating the Church’s Approach to Nuclear Weapons

TWO CHEERS FOR DETERRENCE

Andrew Latham

Deterrence advocates acknowledge the intrinsic balefulness of war but argue nonetheless that the possibility of war is ever-present.

The Blood Crying Out from the Ground

We Westerners bear responsibility for the current sufferings in Iraq. We created a power vacuum there that has been filled by bloodthirsty maniacs hellbent on religious cleansing.

The Woeful Plight of Iraqi Christians

Christians in Iraq are perceived as being allied with the foreign occupiers, but the Americans provide no special protection for them.

War & the Requirement of Moral Certainty

LAXISM

Emmanuel Charles McCarthy

According to Catholic Just War norms, if there is not strict moral certitude that a war is just and is being conducted justly, then the war is unjust.

Pro-Life & Pro-War?

Fr. Pavone is a great prolife leader, but why can't he think with the mind of the Church instead of the mind of the Republican party?

Should Catholics Defend America?

NEW OXFORD REVIEW LOCUTA EST, CAUSA FINITA EST

Paul R. Muessig

The incongruity between her words and her actions substantially undercuts the Church's moral position on war, and has implications that go far beyond that.

Do Our Troops "Support Our Troops"?

U.S. troops should be President Bush's bedrock of support for his war in Iraq, but an astounding 46% of American soldiers do not approve.

Kill 'Em!

The National Catholic Register wants to soothe the consciences of Catholic soldiers who feels they violated the Fifth Commandment in Iraq.

Terrorizing the Innocent

MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL

Joe Wall

Once the principle is adopted that you can ignore the Universal Moral Law for pragmatic reasons, the door is wide open for all types of evils to enter.

Why the United Methodist Bishops' Stance Against the War on Terrorism Is Incoherent

PEACE BEGINS IN THE WOMB

Peter R. McGuire

The same church Fathers who condemned war also condemned abortion. Here the moral credibility of the Methodist bishops collapses.

Can Catholic Orthodoxy Transcend Political Ideology?

THE CASE OF IRAQ

Nicholas C. Lund-Molfese

Rather than mustering the courage to stand alone, Catholics find it easier to follow popular American political opinion.

War's Challenge to the Christian Conscience

William D. Miller

To what extent can a political or value system “have its way” when confronted by an informed and resolute Catholic conscience?

Thou Shalt Not Do Nuclear Murder, Nor Intend To

James G. Hanink

Finnis, Boyle, and Grisez build an extra­ordinarily strong case for unilat­eral nuclear disarmament, and on Just War grounds.

Nuclear Deterrence, Christian Conscience, and the End of Christendom

NEEDED: THE COURAGE OF NON-CONFORMISM

John Finnis

No one killed in a retaliative city-swapping duel would be kill­ed as a combatant; all would thus be killed as non-combatants — i.e., as innocents.

Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament & Being 'Squeezed Out Like a Lemon'

EDITORIAL

Dale Vree

Christians are called by Finnis, Boyle, and Grisez to avoid any co­operation with our nuclear deterrent, just as we must avoid any cooperation with the abortion in­dustry.

Ethics and Military Operations

IS 'REALISM' THE ONLY WAY?

James A. Stegenga

It is an error to allow officialdom to determine the entirety of the agenda of the pub­lic debate, to silence the moralist by dismissing his questions as idle chatter.

The Spiritual Thrust of Just War Doctrine

DEALING WITH THE 'ENEMY WITHOUT' AND THE 'ENEMY WITHIN'

Richard J. Moux

Just war teaching is not only a perspective on the "how" of military activity; it also tries to get us to focus on the "who" and the "what."

Kurt Waldheim & Franz Jägerstätter: Contrasting Austrian Responses to the Unjust War

ON SPIRITUAL HEROISM

Gordon C. Zahn

If we need heroes to honor, let them earn that designation by virtue of true sacrifice based on personal moral commitment.

Seams in the Seamless Garment?

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN INNOCENT & GUILTY HUMAN LIFE

Sheldon Vanauken

If the Seamless Garment links the sparing of innocent human life with the sparing of guilty human life (the murderer or invader of the household or the invader of the country) then the Garment is full of seams.

Saying a Humble, Compassionate & Joyful “Yes” to Life

A SPIRITUALITY OF PEACEMAKING — PART III

Henri J.M. Nouwen

Resisting the forces of death is only meaningful when we are fully in touch with the forces of life we want to uphold.

Saying “No” to Death in All Its Manifestations

A SPIRITUALITY OF PEACEMAKING — PART II

Henri J.M. Nouwen

Real resistance requires the humble confes­sion that we are partners in the evil that we seek to resist. This is a very hard and seemingly endless dis­cipline.

Peace, a Gift We Receive in Prayer

A SPIRITUALITY OF PEACEMAKING — PART I

Henri J.M. Nouwen

Just as Jesus’ command to love one another cannot be seen as a part-time obligation, so too His call to peacemaking is unconditional, unlimited, and uncompromising.

Principle vs. Prudence

LETTER FROM ENGLAND

Christopher Derrick

“Priests and bishops and popes are usually good men, often very good men. But they’re still only men, not always capable of really heroic courage," said the theologian.

Beyond “Left” & “Right”

ABORTION & NUCLEAR WAR

Peter Kreeft

How can we honestly ask God to re­move the scourge of abortion from our land when we are prepared to abort entire other countries with nuclear fire and brimstone?

“Americanist” Permissivism

Juli Loesch

In principle, swatting down missiles before they explode and hurt somebody is morally permissible, even obligatory, if it can be done without violating moral norms.

What Will World War III Be About?

LETTER FROM ENGLAND

Christopher Derrick

There are many ways to cut this world’s cake in half and take sides. A Christian should presumably think in terms of the Church vs. the world.

Roman Catholics & Central America

SEARCHING FOR PEACE

John R. Quinn

The Church in North America is enriched by the example of the Church in Central America as it struggles for justice and human digni­ty.