EPISTLES

In an episode of the Prayerful Posse, veteran Catholic commentator Raymond Arroyo, with canon lawyer Father Gerald Murray and author-journalist Robert Royal, turned their attention to remarks by Pope Leo XIV on Jesus’ rejection of war.

“Jesus is the King of Peace who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war but rejects them. Drawing from Isaiah, ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.’” – Pope Leo XIV

What follows is a transcript excerpt of their discussion, where they analyze the Pope’s words in light of Catholic teaching on peace and the just war doctrine.

The Prayerful Posse on Jesus’ rejection of war

Raymond Arroyo: Father, the Pope seems to be directing this at Trump and Netanyahu, I think. But where does just war doctrine come in here? And is the Holy Father making a distinction that tradition supports? Is God a pacifist?”

Father Murray: “Well, no, Christianity does not teach pacifism as the only moral approach to a conflict between nations and peoples. Now, the pope is correct if he’s talking about illegitimate offensive wars, meaning wars of conquest, you know, wars of domination or extermination. That’s precisely what Putin launched on Ukraine. We can’t forget that the Ukrainians are doing nothing immoral when they fight back. And it’s not wrong to sell them arms. When people hear those who wage war, God doesn’t hear their prayers. Well, God is not favoring those who try to kill as in Ukraine as the Hamas, Hezbollah. The Iranians launched a lot of missiles at the Israelis during those conflicts and the Israelis finally said enough. So, just war teaching remains appropriate precisely because let’s say the Italian government turned hostile and tried to invade Vatican City, well, I hope we’d send in the Marines to defend the holy places and rescue the Pope. People cannot tolerate any kind of notion that warfare is bad. Some warfare is necessary to stop illegitimate warfare by the enemy.”

Raymond Arroyo: “Bob… You want to add anything?”

Robert Royal: “I would just say that look, we’re all uncertain about where things are going in Iran right now and and so it’s understandable that he has a certain hesitation about whether this war is working out or not. But Father Murray is exactly right. We believe in the just use of force. An analogy that’s often made is if a policeman stops a lunatic or somebody who’s trying to murder another person by using deadly force. Of course that’s moral and of course there can be moral wars that are waged. War is not like a police force that has very precise rules about when you can use force. The very nature of war, the fog of war, it’s harder to keep a lid on it but sometimes it’s necessary and as much as I have my own doubts about what we’ve been doing, those nuclear weapons that Iran was trying to develop, it’s simply the case that the world cannot allow that. And I think that we have to have a realistic appraisal of that in the Vatican.”

Does the Magisterium Support Jesus’ rejection of war

Their views expressed on the morality of war are firmly grounded in Magisterial teaching, particularly as outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catechism 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.”

Catechism 2308: “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.”

Catehism 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 modem 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.”

Catechism 2317: “Insofar as men are sinners, the threat of war hangs over them and will so continue until Christ comes again.”

So, the Catechism does not support Jesus’ rejection of war (full rejection). It does emphasize that war is not inherently just but can, under specific conditions, be morally permissible. It specifies that legitimate defense of the nation is a grave duty and that a just war must meet strict criteria: there must be a truly serious threat, the response must be proportional, all other means of resolving the conflict must have been exhausted, and the damage inflicted must avoid excessive harm to civilians.

These principles underscore that the Church does not glorify violence but recognizes that, in certain circumstances, engaging in war may be a necessary act of justice to protect the innocent and preserve the common good. Such guidance ensures that any consideration of armed conflict is measured, ethical, and consistent with Catholic moral teaching.

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