Silencing Catholics who Support the War
There is a piece over at one of the Kerry Catholic sites titled, Moral Blindspots. It tries to show how the war in Iraq is unjust according to Catholic Social Teachings. I believe they are wrong and will post on that sometime soon. But there is one comment in the piece which needs highlighted.
I find it amazing these folks think they can just shut down any discussion as to whether the war in Iraq is just or not. Many of our bishops and Catholic theologians have reminded us that Catholics can legitimately disagree on the justness of this war.
Are these writers just ignorant of, or are they willfully distorting this teaching? I do not know, but I do believe their intent is to silence or confuse those Catholics who support the war, but may not completely understand the just war teachings of the Catholic Church. They are wrong in doing this.
How interesting it is to see some Kerry Catholic claim no Catholic can justify this war, when they consistently push the idea that the Church allows for Catholics to justify the slaughter of the unborn through abortion, ESCR, and cloning. They have it backwards. Support for abortion is intrinsically evil and thus can never be justified; war (including this one) is not intrinsically evil and may be justified.
If anyone wants to dispute one of the points we have made above, they should remember that according to the Church’s teaching, in order to demonstrate that Bush’s war IS a justified war, they would have to refute not just one, but all of our statements. Still more, they bear the burden of proving that all four of the Church’s conditions have in fact been met in the case of our preemptive war on Iraq. Frankly, to seriously suppose it is possible to justify this war would reveal a profound and even willful ignorance of both our Church’s teaching and the facts of this war.
I find it amazing these folks think they can just shut down any discussion as to whether the war in Iraq is just or not. Many of our bishops and Catholic theologians have reminded us that Catholics can legitimately disagree on the justness of this war.
Are these writers just ignorant of, or are they willfully distorting this teaching? I do not know, but I do believe their intent is to silence or confuse those Catholics who support the war, but may not completely understand the just war teachings of the Catholic Church. They are wrong in doing this.
How interesting it is to see some Kerry Catholic claim no Catholic can justify this war, when they consistently push the idea that the Church allows for Catholics to justify the slaughter of the unborn through abortion, ESCR, and cloning. They have it backwards. Support for abortion is intrinsically evil and thus can never be justified; war (including this one) is not intrinsically evil and may be justified.
posted by David at 11:30 AM
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>>How interesting it is to see some Kerry Catholic claim no Catholic can justify this war, when they consistently push the idea that the Church allows for Catholics to justify the slaughter of the unborn through abortion, ESCR, and cloning. They have it backwards. Support for abortion is intrinsically evil and thus can never be justified; war (including this one) is not intrinsically evil and may be justified.
Wait a minute... dontcha want to talk about the just war in Iraq? That we preemptively attacked, killed, murdered men, women, and children in a country due to false intelligence is a GOOD and JUST war? Duh, gimme a break!
The Vatican has softened it's stance on Iraq, perhaps you can. I would ask you to review the facts rather then interject the feelings you have personally about the war, or the media's opinions. The research on the war is government documents, and the proof of what is stil happening in the world today, ie. the latest terror attack in Egypt. Sadam Hussein was a brutal dictator, and if you believe that genicide is terrorism than we had every right to go into that country and depose him. He had 12 yrs to get his act together. The UN didn't have a motivation to stop him because they were being bribed by him. The so called allies, France, and Russia were in up to their necks in the Oil for Food scandal. We were set up to fail from the beginning, and you can't help those evil people at the UN, France and Russia win. They must be exposed, and we MUST stand up to them. If you think that the children and women that lost their lives because they couldn't get food or medical supplies because some corrupt Frenchman was getting rich is not a form of terrorism, what would you call it? If you find a funnel of money that is going to terrorist groups, don't you agree that is support? If that same group is training in your country, isn't that support? If your countrymen (a select group only) is murdered with an experimental poison, isn't that a weapon of mass destruction? If over a million people have been murdered by the dictators henchmen, isn't that genocide?
Here is the Vatican's newest take on things:
Vatican buries the hatchet with Blair and Bush over Iraq
By Julian Coman and Bruce Johnston in Rome
(Filed: 10/10/2004)
Senior Vatican officials have decided to put aside their differences
with Tony Blair over the war in Iraq, calling for multinational
troop reinforcements to secure the country's fledgling democracy.
In February last year, both Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Angelo
Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, offered some of the fiercest
denunciations of Mr Blair and President George W Bush for their
strike on Saddam Hussein.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano
Their private criticism of Mr Blair was made embarrassingly public
by Vatican officials, who revealed at a press conference that the
Pope had urged him to "make use of all the resources offered by
international law to avoid the tragedy of war".
Now, in light of the post-war chaos, Cardinal Sodano has announced a
newly hawkish line on Iraq from Rome. "The child has been born," he
declared recently on behalf of the Vatican. "It may be illegitimate,
but it's here, and it must be reared and educated."
Despite the Vatican's vociferous opposition to the war, the bloody
terrorist attacks and the continuing insurgency have convinced the
Pope that only an increased military presence, including Nato
troops, can secure peace.
"There is a feeling that there really is no going back," said a
Vatican adviser.
In a trenchant interview in the Italian newspaper, La Stampa,
Cardinal Sodano said that as the crisis in Iraq deepened, the time
had come to forget past differences over the decision to invade.
His comments appear to be part of an orchestrated campaign to
galvanise military and financial support for a democratic Iraq among
critics of the war such as France and Germany.
Both countries have refused to contribute troops to Iraq, while
American and British occupation forces remain in the country.
A subsequent front page editorial in Avvenire, an influential Roman
Catholic magazine which boasts Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's
own vicar, as a board member, calls for "tens of thousands of Nato
troops" to be sent to Iraq to assist the interim government and
ensure free elections.
The prominent theologian, Vittorio Parsi, criticises the "laziness"
of countries that have refused to commit troops to Iraq unless all
occupation soldiers are removed. The Telegraph has learnt that the
editorial was almost certainly commissioned by Cardinal Ruini.
"Even the European countries that opposed the American decision to
overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime know well that an Iraq in the
hands of the worst terrorists and criminals goes against the
interests of all," wrote Mr Parsi.
The Vatican's new stance will hearten Mr Blair and President Bush,
whose campaign for re-election has been overshadowed by the crisis.
Senator John Kerry, his Democratic opponent, has repeatedly
criticised the president for failing to garner sufficient
international support for the invasion of Iraq.
The previous post misses the point completely. The Vatican has not decided to "approve" the war retroactively. The Pope and Cardinal Sodano said all along that launching an attack on Iraq was misguided and unjustified, and a huge mistake. Now they are merely pointing out that the resulting mess is a disaster that the international community needs to help solve. It takes a whole lot of "spin" to twist that story into "Rome supports Bush"
I think any sane person can connect the dots here and clearly see that the Vatican is pointing the finger right at the lies and deciet of the Bush administration.
UNITED NATIONS: The Vatican, has in its first speech ever to the UN General Assembly's annual autumn session (rpt) annual autumn session, called for a total ban on human cloning and criticised the war in Iraq and unilateral responses to terrorism.
Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, secretary of the Holy See's relations with states, spoke in broad terms without mentioning the US-led coalition that invaded Iraq or nations that have acted unilaterally against terrorists. He referred to Pope John Paul II's fervent opposition to the Iraq war.
"Everyone can see that it did not lead to a safer world either inside or outside Iraq," he said as the Assembly's two-week annual ministerial session neared an end.
He stressed, however, that it is imperative to support Iraq's new government to bring normalcy and democracy there.
Regarding terrorism worldwide, the Archbishop said nations must work together to tackle the growing scourge.
"It seems obvious that terrorism can only be effectively challenged through a concerted multilateral approach ... and not through the politics of unilateralism," he said.
The fight against terrorism requires long-term action against terrorism's underlying causes, he said, adding that the Roman Catholic church aids in that work by promoting mutual understanding among religions.
The Vatican has had an observer mission at the United Nations since 1964, and Pope John Paul II visited the General Assembly 25 years ago.
>>>I think any sane person can connect the dots here and clearly see that the Vatican is pointing the finger right at the lies and deciet of the Bush administration.
I guess I am insane. Thanks for clearing that up!
Hi, I just stumbled upon this site in a quest for information. Someone asked me recently how do I reconcile the fact that the Pope was against the war in Iraq with the fact that I am for the war in Iraq. I'm having a difficult time trying to put together my response, because although I know why I think the war is justified and why I voted for Bush, that isn't exactly what she's asking me. Basically, it's if I think the Pope is infallible then how can I justify that I knew he disagreed with the war but yet I do not. Can anyone help me? If you are for the war and know that the Pope was not, how do YOU reconcile that?
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