In October, Pax Christi will buy a full-page ad in the National Catholic Reporter prior to the annual meeting of the U.S. bishops. The ad will advocate abandoning the idea of a "just war," something the Catholic church, including in recent statements by the current Pope, shows signs of possibly being willing to do. James Rauner's article below reports how the Catholic church outside of the United States has opposed past wars, and suggests how little it would take to move the church in the U.S. to the same position. But opposing particular wars as "unjust," and suggesting that there might be just ones, leaves the war industry in place, making new wars inevitable. Pax Christi is to be applauded for urging the church to drop that outdated way of thinking, as the current Pope's statements suggest he already has. --DCNS
When Catholics Become a Peace Church
By Deacon James Rauner, Pax Christi Michigan
From Just War to Just Peace: The Time Is Now!
The Ides of War, March, 2003 "
On
March 5, 2003, Pope John Paul II sent the Italian Cardinal, Pio Laghi,
to intervene with President George W. Bush and ask him not to invade
Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein, but the US leader rejected the appeal
claiming he was "convinced it was God's will". The pope had already referred to this planned military intervention as an "adventure" and had warned that war would have serious consequences for both nations and the world. The pope had chosen Laghi for this delicate mission, because he was a friend of the Bush family and might have stood a better chance of being listened to.
The day before the scheduled meeting with the President, the cardinal was asked to meet with officials from the US State Department, as the President wanted to know the agenda of the meeting in advance. Cardinal Laghi was "interrogated" by the National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice.
When the Cardinal arrived at the meeting with the President the next day, he handed Pope John Paul II's letter to the President, "who
immediately put it on a side table without opening or reading it."
The
President then launched into an argument for war,. He told the cardinal
that he, the president, "was convinced it was God's will", and sought
to convince the papal envoy that it was the right thing to do."After a few minutes of what the Cardinal termed 'a sermon'", Laghi interrupted President Bush and said, "Mr. President, I came here in order to speak to you and to give you a message from the Holy Father and I would like you to listen to me."
Cardinal Laghi told Bush that three things would happen if the United States went to war. First, it would cause many deaths and injuries on both sides. Secondly, it would result in civil war. And, thirdly, the United States might know how to get into a war, but it would have great difficulty getting out of one.
Cardinal Laghi realized from this exchange that the President had already made up his mind. This was confirmed shortly afterwards by General Pace, as he accompanied the Cardinal to his car. He shook hands with the Cardinal and told him, "Your Eminence, don't be afraid. We'll do it quickly and we will do it in the best way."
Laghi knew his mission had failed, but he also realized that the Bush administration was very naà ¯ve about the consequences of war.
The press corps was waiting outside the White House after the meeting to interview the cardinal, but administration officials did not allow him to speak to them at the White House.
In the weeks and months before the U.S. attacked Iraq, not only the Holy Father, but also many in the Vatican spoke out against a "preemptive" or "preventative" strike. They declared that the just war theory could not justify such a war.
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