Church and State at Odds in Iraq?

By James Maldonado Berry
Special to the Herald
(From the issue of 3/27/03)

This column originally appeared in the March 27 edition.

Visits to the Vatican by world leaders, ranging from Kofi Annan of the United Nations, to Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, underline the great moral authority and relevance of the Catholic Church, especially embodied in the person of John Paul II. That so many of the world’s leaders are seeking the advice of the Holy Father is indicative of the high profile role the Church has on the world stage.

There seems to be much confusion regarding the Church’s position on the war with Iraq. Reading through the papers of the major news outlets might lead one to believe that the Vatican is unequivocally opposed to a war, even as a last resort. The Holy Father’s calls for peace and an increased use of diplomatic intervention were interpreted by the mass media to mean that the pope is opposed to even the possibility of war. This is not the case.

Those waiting for the Vatican or the Holy Father to come out with a plan of action are missing the point. The Church will make clear the principles of the morality of a possible war. She knows, however, that the job of determining the need for a war in particular circumstance belongs, as the Catechism teaches, to "the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good." Thus the leaders of the various nations, given their classified information, are the ones responsible for making the difficult but morally obligatory decision.

One needs to examine carefully the content of the Holy Father’s remarks and then review the Church’s Just War doctrine in light of the facts surrounding the current crisis. New advancements in the field of weaponry and warfare should also be taken into account when determining whether or not to go to war in this instance. Having done this, one will then come to the conclusion that a war with Iraq is morally justifiable and that nothing the Holy Father has actually said would be opposed to this view.

At the conclusion of the Gulf War in 1991, conditions were imposed on Saddam Hussein by the United Nations. Whether or not he was to remain president of Iraq depended upon his compliance with these conditions, including disarmament and the destruction of various biological and chemical agents. Saddam did little in the 12 years that followed. In fact, he brazenly disregarded these commands at the expense of his own presidency. Hanx Blix, the U.N.’s chief weapons inspectors, stated that Iraq has not been fully cooperative with the inspections teams.

With the arrival of "asymmetrical warfare" comes a need to consider the role of international terrorist networks in modern day warfare. Such networks, although not directly operating under a particular state, receive clandestine and indirect support from such leaders as Saddam Hussein to carry out their malicious goals. The world witnessed the effectiveness of such terrorist cells on Sept. 11, 2001. There is strong evidence that there exists an Al-Queada/Iraq connection. The likelihood that he is harboring biological and chemical agents is extremely high and the probability that these agents are accessible to terrorist cells is likewise high. How can a man who has used biological and chemical weapons on his own people be trusted to provide accurate information regarding the status of his own supply of such weapons? The trustworthiness of such a man is low, if not non-existent.

The inseparability of peace and justice cannot be overemphasized. The reason why the use of force is sometimes morally obligatory is because the stability of peace and order demand it. Self-defense is necessary in order to assure that peace is preserved and justice served. The existence of Original Sin was dramatically portrayed on Sept. 11. The stability of the civilized world was threatened on that day. Justice demanded a reaction and the public authorities took it upon themselves, as the legitimate representatives of the people, to defend peace and order.

As stated earlier, the Church outlines the necessary conditions that must be present to wage a "just war" and also expounds upon the guidelines that are to be followed during an actual a war. Decisions over the possibility of war in a particular circumstance, as stated in the Catechism, are to be left to the civil authorities. The law of subsidiarity demands that those closest to the information are the ones responsible for making such important decisions.

It must be assumed that governments have access to highly classified information that is not readily available to the media, or even the Vatican. This is the reason why the Church recognizes that it is the role of those "responsible for the common good" who are the ones responsible for this kind of decision-making.

When attempting to analyze the position of the Vatican regarding the current situation, every effort must be made to accurately read what the pope is saying. Never has he denied that war may be a last resort if Saddam fails to comply with the international call to disarm. Some would like to portray the Bush Administration as actively seeking a war. This is not true. Like the Vatican, the Administration wanted peace. Like the Vatican, the Administration wanted to avoid war. As the Church teaches, however, somehow war is necessary in order to protect the stability of world order.

The media’s agenda is to portray the Vatican and the pope in particular, as having a pacifist position towards war. While it is true that the pope does not want war, it would be false to interpret this to mean that war is sometimes necessary to ensure international order. The pope has made a special plea to Catholics to fast and pray for world peace. This obligation falls on the shoulders of all Catholics in this serious time.

Berry is a senior at Christendom College in Front Royal. He is an Intercollegiate Studies Institute Honor’s Fellow and participant in the Acton Institute’s "Towards a Free and Virtuous Society" conference.

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