The Just War Doctrine in Catholic Thought

The Just War Doctrine in Catholic Thought PDF

Author: James B. Whisker

Publisher:

Published: 2020-12-30

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781536189827

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

"The just war theory is a doctrine, which is related to and at times interchangeable with such concepts as military tradition, military ethics, the doctrines of military leaders, conflict theology, ethical policy-making, and military tactics and strategy. The purpose of the just war doctrine is to attempt to guarantee that a war is morally justifiable through a series of criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. The criteria are split into two groups: "right to go to war" (jus ad bellum) and "right conduct in war" (jus in bello). The first concerns the morality of going to war, and the second the moral conduct within war. Recently there have been calls for the inclusion of a third category of just war theory known as jus post bellum that is concerned with the morality of post-war settlement and reconstruction. Just war theory postulates that war, while terrible, is made less so with the right conduct. It also assumes that war is not always the worst option. Important responsibilities, undesirable outcomes, or preventable atrocities may justify war. There is a just war tradition, a historical body of rules or agreements that have applied in various wars across the ages. The just war tradition consists primarily of the writings of various philosophers and legal experts through history. This tradition examines both their philosophical visions of war's ethical limits and whether their thoughts have contributed to the body of conventions that have evolved to guide war and warfare"--

Just War Doctrine in Traditional Catholic Thought

Just War Doctrine in Traditional Catholic Thought PDF

Author: Kevin Ray Spiker, Jr

Publisher:

Published: 2020-03-27

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Can wars be just? Humankind has asked, and attempted to answer, that question for at least 3500 years. What criteria determine when there us a just cause that justifies warfare? What are the criteria used to judge ethical behavior during a war? The book examine the perspectives on these and related questions according to the traditional theologian-philosophers in the Roman Catholic Church, beginning with St. Augustine, the father of Just War Doctrine.

The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace

The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace PDF

Author: Catholic Church. National Conference of Catholic Bishops

Publisher: USCCB Publishing

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13: 9781555867058

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Issued in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response.

Just War as Christian Discipleship

Just War as Christian Discipleship PDF

Author: Daniel M. Jr. Bell

Publisher: Brazos Press

Published: 2009-10-01

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9781441206817

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This provocative and timely primer on the just war tradition connects just war to the concrete practices and challenges of the Christian life. Daniel Bell explains that the point is not simply to know the just war tradition but to live it even in the face of the tremendous difficulties associated with war. He shows how just war practice, if it is to be understood as a faithful form of Christian discipleship, must be rooted in and shaped by the fundamental convictions and confessions of the faith. The book includes a foreword by an Army chaplain who has served in Iraq and study questions for group use.

Modern Just War Theory

Modern Just War Theory PDF

Author: Michael P. Farrell

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2013-06-20

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 0810883457

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Contributions to Illuminations: A Scarecrow Press Series of Guides to Research in Religion provide students and scholars, lay readers and clergy, with a road map to research in key areas of religious study. All commonly constructed with introductions to the topic and reviews of key thinkers, concepts, and events, each volume includes surveys of the primary and secondary sources, with critical evaluations of their places in the canon of thought and research on the topic. Focusing primarily on the knowledge required by today’s students and scholars, each guide is a must-have for any student of religion. The twentieth century saw an explosion of wars and an accompanying explosion of literature on the morality of war. Thinking among Christian clerics and scholars on the idea of “just war” shifted with developments on the battlefield. Alternatives to just war theory, such as pacifism and realism, found new proponents in the published work of the neo-Anabaptists and Niebhurians. Meanwhile, proponents of Christian just war theory had to address challenges from competing ideologies as well as ththose presented by the changing nature of warfare. Modern Just War Theory: A Guide to Research, by scholar and librarian Michael Farrell, serves as a manual for students and scholars studying Christian just war theory, helping them navigate the wealth of just war literature produced in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Farrell’s guide provides an introduction to the major developments of just war theory in the twentieth century, including sections on how to research just war theory, an overview of some of the most important theorists and developments of the twentieth century, and discussions of key search terms and related topics. Farrell then surveys and evaluates key primary and secondary sources for researchers on just war theory, as well as related sources on Christian realism and the responses of just war theorists to proponents of pacifism and secular just war theories. Modern Just War Theory will appeal to students and scholars of theology, military history, international law, and Christian ethics

Catholic Perspectives on Peace and War

Catholic Perspectives on Peace and War PDF

Author: Thomas Massaro

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 9780742531765

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book offers a thorough and accessible analysis of Catholic teaching on war and warmaking from its earliest stages to the present. Moral theologians Thomas Massaro and Thomas A. Shannon begin with a survey of the teachings on war in various religions and denominations and then trace the development of Just War theory and application, review the perspective of several Catholic bishops, comment on the bishops' pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace, address contemporary developments in light of 9-11 and the United States war with Iraq, and conclude with theological reflections. Complete with recommended readings, Catholic Perspectives on Peace and War offers an informative and thoughtful moral analysis that helps readers navigate the rapidly changing terrain of war, warmaking, and peace initiatives.

A People Adrift

A People Adrift PDF

Author: Peter Steinfels

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2013-01-29

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1439128413

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In A People Adrift, a prominent Catholic thinker states bluntly that the Catholic Church in the United States must transform itself or suffer irreversible decline. Peter Steinfels shows how even before the recent revelations about sexual abuse by priests, the explosive combination of generational change and the thinning ranks of priests and nuns was creating a grave crisis of leadership and identity. This groundbreaking book offers an analysis not just of the church's immediate troubles but of less visible, more powerful forces working below the surface of an institution that provides a spiritual identity for 65 million Americans and spans the nation with its parishes, schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, clinics, and social service agencies. In A People Adrift, Steinfels warns that entrenched liberals and conservatives are trapped in a "theo-logical gridlock" that often ignores what in fact goes on in families, parishes, classrooms, voting booths, and Catholic organizations of all types. Above all, he insists, the altered Catholic landscape demands a new agenda for leadership, from the selection of bishops and the rethinking of the priesthood to the thorough preparation and genuine incorporation of a lay leadership that is already taking over key responsibilities in Catholic institutions. Catholicism exerts an enormous cultural and political presence in American life. No one interested in the nation's moral, intellectual, and political future can be indifferent to the fate of what has been one of the world's most vigorous churches -- a church now severely challenged.

Church, State, and Society

Church, State, and Society PDF

Author: J. Brian Benestad

Publisher: Catholic University of America Press + ORM

Published: 2012-08-07

Total Pages: 784

ISBN-13: 081321923X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

How can the Catholic faith help not only Catholics, but all people, build a just and flourishing society? The Catholic Church contributes first and foremost to the common good by forming the consciences of the faithful. Faith helps reason achieve an understanding of the common good and guides individuals in living justly and harmoniously. In this book, J. Brian Benestad provides a detailed, accessible introduction to Catholic social doctrine (CSD), the Church’s teachings on the human person, the family, society, political life, charity, justice, and social justice. Church, State, and Society explains the nuanced understanding of human dignity and the common good found in the Catholic intellectual tradition. It makes the case that liberal-arts education is an essential part of the common good because it helps people understand their dignity and all that justice requires. The author shows the influence of ancient and modern political philosophy and examines St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, papal social encyclicals, Vatican Council II, and postconciliar magisterial teaching. Benestad highlights the teachings of popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI that the attainment of the common good depends on the practice of the virtues by citizens and leaders alike. In addition to discussing the tension between CSD and liberal democracy, the book takes an in-depth look at: –Key themes of social life: the dignity of the human person, human rights, natural law, and the common good –Three principal mediating institutions of civil society: family, Church, and Catholic university –The economy, work, poverty, immigration, and the environment –The international community and just war principles “Excellent . . . The best treatment of Catholic Social Doctrine as a whole and a precious reminder of the intrinsically problematic character of modern democracy.” —Perspectives on Political Science

After the Smoke Clears

After the Smoke Clears PDF

Author: Mark J. Allman

Publisher: Orbis Books

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 157075859X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Once the smoke of the battlefield blows away, what are the moral requirements of the "victor"? While most studies of just war focus on the rationale for going to war and the conduct of the war, this important book examines the period after the conflict. What must be done to restore justice? In the words of the authors, "`Victory' is declared by presidents and other leaders, yet all too often no just peace is to be found in the wake of today's conflicts....After the smoke clears, the powers that be may declare `mission accomplished' when, as Ezekiel long ago said, there really is no peace." "Allman and Winright provide readers with a clear, concise, balanced, and informed assessment of an important topic in debates about modern warfare: the issue of moral duties in a post-conflict situation."---Kenneth R. Himes, O.F.M., Boston College "Timely and readable...Shows us not only that nations have responsibilities after war `ends,' but also that reconstructing societies requires specific processes of restoration."---Lisa Sowle Cahill, Boston College

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Blessed Are the Peacemakers PDF

Author: Lisa Sowle Cahill

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2019-03-02

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 1506457797

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book is a contribution to the Christian ethics of war and peace. It advances peacebuilding as a needed challenge to and expansion of the traditional framework of just war theory and pacifism. It builds on a critical reading of historical landmarks from the Bible through Augustine, Aquinas, the Reformers, Christian peace movements, and key modern figures like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Reinhold Niebuhr, and recent popes. Similar to just-war theory, peacebuilding is committed to social change and social justice but includes some theorists and practitioners who accept the use of force in extreme cases of self-defense or humanitarian intervention. Unlike just-war theorists, they do not see the justification of war as part of the Christian mission. Unlike traditional pacifists, they do see social change as necessary and possible and, as such, requiring Christian participation in public efforts. Cahill argues that transformative Christian social participation is demanded by the gospel and the example of Jesus, and can produce the avoidance, resolution, or reduction of conflicts. And yet obstacles are significant, and expectations must be realistic. Decisions to use armed force against injustice, even when they meet the criteria of just war, will be ambiguous and tragic from a Christian perspective. Regarding war and peace, the focus of Christian theology, ethics, and practice should not be on justifying war but on practical and hopeful interreligious peacebuilding.