On Justice Part Two

A second misunderstanding regarding justice plagues the thinking of modern Catholics, as well as pagans. This idea centers around the fact that many people do not believe that God IS Just. They think God's ways are too harsh, too demanding, to strict.

A fallen away Catholic told a friend of mine that the Catholic Church was "too hard" and "too exacting", asking too much of people.

I would hope that my friend answered that the Church only repeats the teachings of Christ and that Christ has called us all to perfection.

Sin is called "human" when it is, actually, sub-human, less than human, to sin.

I feel that the time of mercy, which God allowed and called forth through St. Faustina, is fast coming to an end. I see a time in the near future when the justice of God will be more obvious than the mercy of God.

I believe that a time is coming soon when all of us will experience a type of "darkness", as if God had removed Himself from the world. At least, it will seem this way, as God will allow satan to sift all people in order to save those who are away from God and in order to perfect the faithful.

In other words, I think we shall all be plunged into a communal Dark Night, where God will hide His mercy and let His justice fall upon the earth.

Are you ready for this? Is your faith strong enough for the removal of mercy in the face of justice?

On Mercy and Justice

Confusion reigns in the "new Church" regarding the virtue of justice. Now, most Catholics understand "social justice", but few understand the justice of God, Who is All Just.

Here is one passage to start the examination of God as Just here.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-9

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

6 Seeing it is a just thing with God to repay tribulation to them that trouble you:

7 And to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with the angels of his power:

8 In a flame of fire, giving vengeance to them who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 Who shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction, from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his power:

We tend to understand mercy, which is defined as the giving of compassion when punishment would be due.

Mercy is not merely the overlooking of the error, but the admitting of an error and then the dispensing of punishment.

Mercy is not denial of sin, of evil.

Justice looks at "what is morally right and fair" and decides on punishment or mercy. Now, justice does not have to entail mercy, mercy is not a "given".

But, justice must exist in order for mercy to exist.

Without some type of judgement, mercy does not make sense.

Justice is one of the cardinal virtues and involves the intellect, reason and freedom. The last word forms a real obstacle for some Catholics.

Many Catholics deny free will. We all have the freedom to choose good or evil, a Godly life, or a life without God. Too many people want to deny culpability.

Freedom is one way in which we are created in the Image and Likeness of God. The other ways we are like God may be seen in our ability to think, our intellect, and in our creativity, our ability to create.

We are free because God has made us in His Image and Likeness and He is free. 

Therefore, God represents to us pure Freedom, which leads to pure Mercy and pure Justice.

To be continued....

Real Pacificism III

Wrapping up these posts on Just War Doctrine and pacifism, I want to point out the sad reality of the lack of understanding of duties of defense among so many "new men".

Too many men today do not think it is their duty to protect themselves, their families, wives, children, Church, country.  Part of this has been the brain-washing of the false pacifist position of the past 40 years, which is a view that states that all confrontation, including physical, is by definition "bad". This is, obviously, not the case.

But, that view of many men is that they do not have to learn how to defend, nor do they have a duty to do so.

God put women and children in family and clan units for their protection. Men have lost this sense of being protectors. They rationalize their stand by claiming a false pacifism, which is merely an excuse not to fight.

Many men do not know that patriotism is a virtue. Many men have fallen into the cynicism referred to yesterday and the day before in posts. Cynicism denies the need for protection. Fear also denies the traditional male role of protector.

Too many men will not fight, refuse to defend, the innocent, the weak. This fear or state of weakness is not real pacifism, like the men of the Anabaptists exhibit, but a denial of what it is to be a man. Our nation and other nations of the West have lost leadership because of these false ideals and fear.

The protectors are becoming an extinct species......

The False Pacifist vs.The True I

During the Viet Nam War, I knew several seminarians who chose to prove to their draft boards that Catholicism supported pacifism. Their numbers had come up and they either had to go to Nam or prove, that as pacifists, they would be willing to do alternative work. In fact, the official government rule is that conscientious objectors must support the war effort by alternative, non-combative duties or go to federal prison.

All won their hearings and went into offices, or did cleaning on bases and so on. Their stand was that the Catholic Church always had a history of pacifism alongside the Just War Theory. These young men did their homework, but part of their stand was that they would never fight in any war, not merely this particular was which they thought was unjust.

Today, in the Church there is a false pacifism. This pacifism is not founded on a philosophy of non-violence, but on the desire not to engage in any fighting or any kind for any reason because of....fear. The fear is the feat of confrontation of any kind, and there are two generations which seem to have an over-representation of youth and middle-aged people who simply will not fight, even to defend themselves or others

When the several young men, all who were at university with me and in theology classes with me, researched Catholic pacifism, they showed me their results, and, in fact, as a research theology student myself, I dived into the study with and for them. The pacifist stand of "satyagraha", held by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr is not part of the Catholic historical position, as it came from the Hindu tradition. The idea of "conscientious objection" would have to be total and not specific to a war to be a valid stance before a draft board.

That the official teaching of the Catholic Church is Just War Legitimacy makes it difficult for Catholics who are true pacifists to find their heritage, but some did. 

The martyrs could be construed as pacifists, in that they did not fight or defend themselves. But, then most could not, were not in that position of armed resistance.

A true pacifist, as my friend discovered, could not pretend or be fearful of confrontation. Their stand was one of non-violence not non-confrontation.

Confrontation with peaceful, passive means, "passive resistance" is something I was taught, useful for pro-life work in antagonistic places. Again, passive resistance, being resistance, is not fearful.

Most Catholics agree with the Just War position of the Church, and here is the section from the CCC on this.

III. SAFEGUARDING PEACE

Peace

2302 By recalling the commandment, "You shall not kill," [Mt. 5:21] our Lord asked for peace of heart and denounced murderous anger and hatred as immoral.

Anger is a desire for revenge. "To desire vengeance in order to do evil to someone who should be punished is illicit," but it is praiseworthy to impose restitution "to correct vices and maintain justice." [St. Thomas Aquinas, ST II-II q158, a1 ad3] If anger reaches the point of a deliberate desire to kill or seriously wound a neighbor, it is gravely against charity; it is a mortal sin. The Lord says, "Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment." [Mt. 5:22]

2303 Deliberate hatred is contrary to charity. Hatred of the  neighbor is a sin when one deliberately wishes him evil. Hatred of the neighbor is a grave sin when one deliberately desires him grave harm.  "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." [Mt. 5:44-45]

2304 Respect for and development of human life require peace.  Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is "the tranquility of order." [St. Augustine,City of God 19, 13,1]  Peace is the work of justice  and the effect of charity. [Cf. Is. 32:17; cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes #78, 1-2]

 2305 Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic "Prince of Peace." [Is. 9:5] By the blood of his Cross, "in his own person he killed the hostility," [Eph. 2:16; cf. Col. 1:20-22] he reconciled men with God  and made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its union with God. "He is our peace." [Eph. 2:14] He has declared: "Blessed are the peacemakers." [Mt. 5:9]

2306 Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity,  provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death. [Cf. Vatican II,Gaudium et spes 78, 5]

Avoiding war

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. [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 81, 4] 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." [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes79, 4]

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 modern 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.[Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 79, 5]

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. [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 79, 3] 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." [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes79, 4]

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." [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 80, 3]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; [Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio 53] 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 any more." [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes78, 6; cf. Is. 2:4]

To be continued..........