Just War: A Catholic Perspective

• Date: 01 October 2012
• Author: MARGARET MONAHAN HOGAN
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1536-7150.2012.00856.x
• Published date: 01 October 2012

Just War: A Catholic Perspective

Cui Non Videtur Causa Justa?

By MARGARET MONAHAN HOGAN*

ABSTRACT. Just peace is the desired condition and there exists a

presumption against war. That presumption may be overridden by

injustice that disrupts the just peace. Once the peace is broken, war is

permissible under the following conditions: the war must be declared

by the legitimate authority; there must be a just cause (defense against

aggression, punishment against guilt, violation of rights, defending the

innocent, or protecting those values required for decent human exist-

ence); the right intention (pursuit of stated cause, pursuit of lasting

peace, and right attitude) must guide the move to war; the response

of war must be proportional (producing more good than evil, appro-

priate to remedy the extent of injustice); success in waging war is

probable; conformity to international law; all other attempts to remedy

the injustice perpetrated or imminently threatened must have been

attempted and exhausted.

Introduction

This essay is about war—and its causes—as understood from a

Catholic perspective. It represents the thinking of a woman who is by

profession a philosopher and who is, by religious affiliation and deep

commitment, a Catholic. It represents my thoughts as I ponder what

ought a Catholic mother and professor tell her sons and her daughters

as well as her students. While this essay represents my understanding

of the Catholic position on war, it makes no claim to speak for the

Catholic Church.

As the subtitle “Cui Non Videtur Causa Justa?” suggests, the notion of

just war is problematic. The notion of waging war—of any kind of

*Margaret Monahan Hogan is McNerney-Hanson Professor Emeritus of Ethics, Pro-

fessor Emeritus of Philosophy, and Founding Executive Director, Garaventa Center for

Catholic Intellectual Life and American Culture at the University of Portland. She is a

Fellow of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture.

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 71, No. 4 (October, 2012).

© 2012 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc.