Dear Jim:

Thank you for your service to our Country. I served at the tail end of Vietnam, and my father was a POW in Korea (for 3 years).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

2307 The fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of human life. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war.

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."

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.

2310 Public authorities, in this case, have the right and duty to impose on citizens the obligations necessary for national defense.

Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of the security and freedom of nations. If they carry out their duty honorably, they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of peace.

2311 Public authorities should make equitable provision for those who for reasons of conscience refuse to bear arms; these are nonetheless obliged to serve the human community in some other way.

2312 The Church and human reason both assert the permanent validity of the moral law during armed conflict. "The mere fact that war has regrettably broken out does not mean that everything becomes licit between the warring parties."

2313 Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must be respected and treated humanely.

Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must be condemned as a mortal sin. One is morally bound to resist orders that command genocide.

2314 "Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation." A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes.

2315 The accumulation of arms strikes many as a paradoxically suitable way of deterring potential adversaries from war. They see it as the most effective means of ensuring peace among nations. This method of deterrence gives rise to strong moral reservations. The arms race does not ensure peace. Far from eliminating the causes of war, it risks aggravating them. Spending enormous sums to produce ever new types of weapons impedes efforts to aid needy populations; it thwarts the development of peoples. Over-armament multiplies reasons for conflict and increases the danger of escalation.

2316 The production and the sale of arms affect the common good of nations and of the international community. Hence public authorities have the right and duty to regulate them. The short-term pursuit of private or collective interests cannot legitimate undertakings that promote violence and conflict among nations and compromise the international juridical order.

2317 Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and cause wars. Everything done to overcome these disorders contributes to building up peace and avoiding war:

Insofar as men are sinners, the threat of war hangs over them and will so continue until Christ comes again; but insofar as they can vanquish sin by coming together in charity, violence itself will be vanquished and these words will be fulfilled: "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

The section I marked in red gives the authority to determine the justness of a war to "those who have responsibility for the common good." That would be the President and Congress here in the United States.

The Pope, therefore, as I understand, it does not make this determination although he may issue an opinion.

But, for the sake of argument, what if the Pope officially declared a particular war unjust. If this was an OFFICIAL declaration, as opposed to an opinion or an advisory, then we as Catholics would probably be bound by it. Those in the armed forces already could ask for a different assignment, or perhaps ask for discharge I suppose. If the serviceman is ordered into combat anyway, then one must do what one must do. Unless one's orders constitute a human rights violation or are otherwise illegal, a soldier is bound to obey and the person giving the orders will be held accountable.

St. Faustina was faced with an issue of obedience once. Jesus told her to wear a hair shirt as mortification, but Sister Faustina's religious superior forbade her from doing so. When Sister Faustina came back to Jesus and told him she could not wear a hair shirt despite His wishes, Jesus replied, "Your obedience pleases me more than your sacrifice."

Now this story is not about war and combat, but it does illustrate that at one level obedience to one's superiors pleases God.

I think that a soldier needs to follow his conscience, even if that means court-martial. This is true for all of us at all times. The Church does teach that we have an obligation to follow our conscience (of course we also have an obligation to see to it that our conscience is properly informed).

But to answer your question directly, frankly I do not know. I am not sure this situation is possible to come up as I am not sure the Pope can make such "officially binding" decisions on this. Thus, I am not sure of what our obligation would be under Church law, but I do know that if our conscience tells us that the war is unjust, then we ought not to participate (except perhaps in a non-combatant form such as a medic).

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary