The on-going conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq seems so distant and never-ending. We may feel overwhelmed when we hear about and see the violence and the number of lives that have been lost.

Recently, the conflicts in the Middle East came to a violent crescendo. Between December 27 and January 8, the United States and Iran traded attacks. First, a U.S. contractor was killed in Iraq. The U.S. struck back with missile attacks in Syria and Iraq, killing 25. Then there were violent protests at the U.S. Embassy in Bagdad. Next, the U.S. bombed and killed an Iranian general and 10 members of his travel group. The general was long suspected of organizing terrorist attacks against the U.S. and its allies. That killing led to retaliation from Iran as they launched missiles at a U.S. military base. Then, in the confusion of the attack, a commercial airplane carrying 176 people was shot down and all passengers were killed. I wanted to shout, “Stop! This is crazy!”

How ought we to evaluate the necessity and justification of military actions? The Church has formulated a traditional set of principles by which the justification of war is to be measured. Here are the six principles: 1. The war must be for a just cause. 2. The war must be lawfully declared by a lawful authority. 3. The intention behind the war must be good. 4. All other ways of resolving the problem should have been tried first. 5.There must be a reasonable chance of success. 6. The means used must be in proportion to the end that the war seeks to achieve. (All six conditions must be met).

The Church goes further setting principles for how a war ought to be fought. These principles are as follows: 1. Innocent people and non-combatants should not be harmed. 2. Only appropriate force should be used. 3. This applies to both the sort of force, and how much force is used. 4. Internationally agreed conventions regulating war must be obeyed.

You may read the above principles and ask how it is ever possible to fight a war. Exactly! It should be difficult to arrive at a justification for war, or for any attack on another.

A quote from Pope Francis: “We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried. … But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: ‘Never again war!’; ‘With war everything is lost.’ — Invocation for Peace, held with Presidents Shimon Peres of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, Vatican Gardens, June 9, 2014.

Peace, Fr. Andy