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Catholic peace traditions begin with its biblical and classical origins and continue on to the current practice in the twenty-first century. Because of its long history and breadth of geographical and cultural diversity, this Catholic tradition encompasses many strains and influences of both religious and secular peacemaking and many aspects of
/ref> Peacemaking is an integral part of
The history of peacemaking in the Catholic tradition reflects the religious meanings of peace, tied to positive virtues, such as love, and to the personal and social works of justice. The Greek word for peace is ''eirene''; Roman ''pax'', and in the
Catholic peace traditions begin with its biblical and classical origins and continue on to the current practice in the twenty-first century. Because of its long history and breadth of geographical and cultural diversity, this Catholic tradition encompasses many strains and influences of both religious and secular peacemaking and many aspects of Christian pacifism
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Ch ...
, just war
The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is ...
and nonviolence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
.
Catholic tradition as a whole supports and favours peacemaking efforts.Kemmetmueller, Donna Jean. "Peace: The Challenge of Living the Catholic Tradition", ''Peace and Conflict Monitor''. May 9, 2005/ref> Peacemaking is an integral part of
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching, commonly abbreviated CST, is an area of Catholic doctrine concerning matters of human dignity and the common good in society. The ideas address oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, con ...
.
Definitions
The history of peacemaking in the Catholic tradition reflects the religious meanings of peace, tied to positive virtues, such as love, and to the personal and social works of justice. The Greek word for peace is ''eirene''; Roman ''pax'', and in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
expresses peace as a state of unperturbed tranquility. The English word "peace" derives ultimately from its root, the Latin "pax".
Shalom ( he, שלום) is the word for peace in the '' Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''
The Gospels present the birth of Jesus as ushering in a new age of peace. In Luke, Zechariah celebrates his son
/ref> The account of the healing of the centurion's servant suggests to John Eppstein that Jesus did not view military service as sinful, since rather than reprove the soldier for his profession, Jesus praised him for his faith. Nor did Peter require Cornelius to resign his commission or desert upon being baptized.Eppstein, John. ''The Catholic Tradition of the Law of Nations'', Burns & Oates, London, 1935
/ref> John the Baptist's advice to soldiers was, "Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages."
/ref> Clement of Alexandria wrote, ""If you enroll as one of God's people, heaven is your country and God your lawgiver. And what are his laws? You shall not kill, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. To him that strikes you on the one cheek, turn to him the other also." (Protrepticus 10) "Selected Quotations", ''War, Peace and Conscience in the Catholic Tradition''
/ref> The early Christians anticipated the eminent return of the Lord in glory, even to the extent that Paul had to tell some of them to get back to work. Generally they were not deeply involved in the larger community. As it became apparent that a more nuanced understanding was called for, Christians came to realize that if they were to survive socially they could not remain within the confines of their own community.Massaro, S.J. and Shannon, Thomas A., ''Catholic Perspectives on Peace and War'', Sheed & Ward, 2003
St. Paul wrote, "Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. ... This is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, toll to whom toll is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due."
The early Christian church believed that Christians should not take up arms in any war, and so struggled attempting to balance the obligation to be a good citizen and the question of whether it was permissible to take up arms to defend one's country. There developed a gap between the reasoning of the moral theorists and the practice of the private citizen.
As early as second century, Christians began to participate in Roman military, police, and government in large numbers. Military service was one way available to make a living, and on the borders of the empire there was a need to defend against barbarian incursions. As the army came to take on duties more in the line of police work: traffic and customs control, firefighting, the apprehension of criminals and bandits, maintaining the peace, quelling street brawls, and performing the roles of engineering, clearance, and other works of building for which the Roman army was well known, this choice became less problematic. The numbers of soldiers that came to be counted among the later martyrs indicates that many Christians served in the military, despite their abhorrence of war.
From about the middle of the second century, officers in the Roman army were expected to participate in the Imperial Cult and sacrifice to the emperor. During the reign of Diocletian this obligation was extended to the lower ranks, as a test for those suspected of being Christian. Christians were therefore counseled not to enlist so as to avoid needless blood guilt and the risk of idolatry, but should nonetheless continue to pray for the civil authorities.
Among the better-known soldier saints are
Persecutions were sporadic and the third century, largely local. By and large the Roman government didn't pay much attention to Christianity.
Christians sought to live the injunction to love their enemies while resisting their evil, even if this involved persecution and death: these were the
The sufferings of the martyrs were therefore not an act of suicide or some masochistic form of passive weakness that found its fulfillment in torture and death at the hands of the Romans. Theirs was an act of commitment carried out in the public arena, designed to show the enemy that what is worth living for is also worth dying for. According to Josephine Laffin, martyrdom demonstrated to all that Christ had overcome death, and that the Holy Spirit sustained the Church in its fight against darkness and evil.Laffin, Josephine. ''What Does it Mean to be a Saint?: Reflections on Mary MacKillop, Saints and Holiness in the Catholic Tradition'', p. 85, Wakefield Press, 2010
The Martyrs of Córdoba were forty-eight Christian martyrs living in the ninth-century Muslim-ruled Al-Andalus. Their hagiography describes in detail their executions for deliberately sought capital violations of Muslim law in Al-Andalus. The martyrdoms recorded by Eulogius took place between 851 and 859; with few exceptions, the Christians invited execution by making public statements tactically chosen to invite martyrdom by appearing before the Muslim authorities to denounce Islam. The martyrs caused tension not only between Muslims and Christians, but within the Christian community. In December 852 Church leaders called a council in Cordoba, which honored those fallen but called on Christians to refrain from seeking martyrdom.
Recent historical interpretation of the martyr movement reflect questions on its nature. Kenneth Baxter Wolf sees its cause in "spiritual anxiety" and the penitential aspect of ninth-century Iberian Christianity. Clayton J. Drees sees their motives in a "pathological death-wish, the product of unexpressed hatred toward society that had turned inward against themselves" and other innate "psychological imbalances". Jessica A. Coope suggests that it reflects a protest against the process of assimilation, and that the martyrs demonstrated a determination to assert Christian identity.Coope, Jessica A., ''The Martyrs of Córdoba: Community and Family Conflict in an Age of Mass Conversion'', p. 14, University of Nebraska Press, 1995
With the triumph of Constantine as sole Roman emperor in 313, the church of the martyrs now found itself an accepted and favored religion, soon to become the official religion of the state. Constantine had an emblem inscribed on the shields of his soldiers that has been various described as representing the "Unconquerable Sun" or as a
/ref> "He who does not ward off injury from his comrade, when he is able to, is just as guilty as he who does the injury."Egan, Eileen. ''Peace Be with You: Justified Warfare or the Way of Nonviolence'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2004
When the Empress Justina sought to have the new basilica in Milan turned over to the Arians, Ambrose, supported by the faithful, occupied it himself in what Egan identifies as an example of non-violent resistance.
It is no coincidence that the appearance of the first monks comes within a few years of Constantine's assumption of power and the alliance of church and empire that he forged.
Christian monasticism started in Egypt, then spread to Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and finally to Italy and southern Gaul. Anthony the Hermit ( 251-356), the founder of monasticism, and
/ref> Penances lasting from forty days to a year for killing someone in battle, were not uncommon. Following Augustine, war was seen as inherently sinful, and at best the lesser of two evils.Allman, Mark. ''Who Would Jesus Kill?: War, Peace, and the Christian Tradition'', "The Middle Ages", Saint Mary's Press, 2008
The Carolingian period saw the emergence of both a renewed Roman Empire of the West and the beginning of fresh barbarian invasions from the north and east and the rise of Islam. Internal efforts to legislate the life of the Christian Republic were therefore matched by its external defense against invasions by the
The laws provided sanctions against the killing of children, clerics, clerical students and peasants on clerical lands; against rape, against impugning the chastity of a noblewoman, and prohibited women from having to take part in warfare. Various factors, including Marian devotion in seventh- and eighth-century Ireland, may have contributed to inspire Adomnán to introduce these laws. Many of these things were already crimes, under the Irish
/ref> "Stewards of the Law" collected the fine and paid it to the victim or next of kin. Adomnán's initiative appears to be one of the first systematic attempts to lessen the savagery of warfare among Christians. In it he gave local expression, in the context of the Gaelic legal tradition, to a wider Christian movement to restrain violence. It was an early example of international law in that it was to be enforced in Ireland and northern Scotland, for it was the kings of those regions who were in attendance and signed as guarantors of the Law.
/ref> The ''Peace of God'' or ''Pax Dei'' was a proclamation issued by local clergy that decreed immunity from armed violence to noncombatants who could not defend themselves, beginning with the peasants (''agricolae'') and the clergy. It included the clergy and their possessions; the poor; women; peasants along with their tools, animals, mills, vineyards, and labor; and later pilgrims and merchants: in short, the vast majority of the medieval population who neither bore arms, nor were entitled to bear them. Children and women were added to the early protections. Merchants and their goods were added to the protected groups in a synod of 1033. The ''Pax Dei'' prohibited nobles from invading churches, beating the defenseless, and burning houses.
/ref> It dates from the eleventh century. While the Truce of God was a temporary suspension of hostilities, as distinct from the Peace of God which was permanent, the jurisdiction of the Truce of God was broader. The Peace of God prohibited fighting on Sundays, and ferial days (feast days on which people were not obliged to work). It was the sanctification of Sunday which gave rise to the Truce of God, for it had always been agreed not to do battle on that day and to suspend disputes in the law-courts. It confirmed permanent peace for all churches and their grounds, the monks, clerks and chattels; all women, pilgrims, merchants and their servants, cattle and horses; and men at work in the fields. For all others peace was required throughout Advent, the season of Lent, and from the beginning of the Rogation days until eight days after Pentecost. This prohibition was subsequently extended to specific days of the week, viz., Thursday, in memory of the Ascension, Friday, the day of the Passion, and Saturday, the day of the Resurrection (council 1041). By the middle of the twelfth century the number of proscribed days was extended until there was left some eighty days for fighting. The Truce soon spread from France to Italy and Germany; the oecumenical council of 1179 extended the institution to the whole Church by Canon xxi, "De treugis servandis", which was inserted in the collection of canon law, Decretal of Gregory IX, I, tit., "De treuga et pace".
/ref> Aquinas challenged the Truce, holding that it was lawful to wage war to safeguard the commonweal on holy days and feast days.
/ref>
Francisco de Vitoria was a Spanish Dominican philosopher, considered one of the founders of early international law. He was educated at the College Saint-Jacques in Paris, where he was influenced by the work of Desidarius Erasmus. In 1524, he held the Chair of theology at the
Vitoria adopted from Aquinas the Roman law concept of ''ius gentium'' ("the law of nations"). His defense of American Indians was based on a Scholastic understanding of the intrinsic dignity of man, a dignity he found being violated by Spain's policies in the New World. Dominican friar Pedro de Córdoba OP (c. 1460–1525) was a Spanish missionary on the island of Hispaniola. He was first to denounce the system of forced labor known as the Encomienda, imposed on the native inhabitants. Other important figures include
German Resistance Memorial Centre, Index of Persons; retrieved at 4 September 2013 Belgian Cardinal Jozef-Ernest van Roey was deeply opposed to
/ref> John's successors
/ref> Léonie Duquet and Alice Domon were French religious sisters abducted in December 1977 by an Argentine death squad for their support of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in their efforts to learn the fate of those disappeared by the then ruling military regime. Later that month a number of bodies washed ashore south of Buenos Aires and were subsequently secretly buried. Duquet was among those later disinterred and identified. In El Salvador, Father Rutilio Grande spoke against the injustices at the hands of an oppressive government, and dedicated his life's work to organizing the impoverished, marginalized rural farmers of El Salvador as they demanded respect for their rights. Father Grande and two others were killed by machine gun fire, while on the way to say Mass.
/ref> In the late 1970s Hurley held a daily silent protest, standing in front of the central Durban Post Office for a period each day with a placard expressing his opposition to apartheid and the displacement of people from their homes.
/ref> He received many death threats and was at times subject to house arrest. According to Gerald Shaw writing for ''The Guardian'', "It was in part due to his sustained moral crusade and that of other churchmen that the transition to democracy, when it came in 1994, was accepted by white people in peace and good order." Hurley is remembered for his contribution to the struggle against apartheid, his concern for the poor and his commitment towards a more just and peaceful society.
/ref> Beyond its effects on the Philippines, the peaceful ouster of Marcos has been cited as a milestone in the movement toward popularly chosen governments throughout the world.
/ref>
After the war Catholic peacemaking narrowed down to a very few institutions, including the Catholic Worker Movement, and individuals, including
/ref> According to Garret Mattingly,
/ref> *On June 8, 2014 Pope Francis welcoming the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to the Vatican for an evening of peace prayers just weeks after the last round of U.S.-sponsored negotiations collapsed.
Merton, Thomas. ''The Nonviolent Alternative''. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1980
* * Musto, Ronald G
''Liberation Theologies: A Research Guide''
New York: Garland, 1991. * * O'Brien, David J. and Thomas A. Shannon, eds
''Renewing the Earth: Catholic Documents on Peace, Justice and Liberation''
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977 * Pagden, Anthony. ''Vitoria: Political Writings'', Cambridge University Press, 1991 * * Zahn, Gordon
''War, Conscience and Dissent''
New York: Hawthorne, 1967.
Mattingly, Garrett. ''Renaissance Diplomacy'', 1955
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Peace Traditions Catholic theology and doctrine Religion and peace Christian pacifism
'' Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''
''Eirene''
The Greek meaning for peace, contained in the word ''eirene'', evolved over the course of Greco-Roman civilization from such agricultural meanings as prosperity, fertility, and security of home contained inHesiod
Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
's ''Works and Days'', to more internal meanings of peace formulated by the Stoics, such as Epictetus
Epictetus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκτητος, ''Epíktētos''; 50 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, wh ...
.
''Eirene'' is the word that the New Testament generally uses for peace, one of the twenty words used by the Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
, the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible used in the largely Greek-speaking Jewish communities throughout the Greco-Roman world. It is chiefly through the Septuagint's use of Greek that the Greek word ''eirene'' became infused with all the religious imagery and richness of the word ''shalom'' in the Hebrew Bible that had evolved over the history of the Jewish people. Subsequently, the use of the Greek Bible as the basis for St. Jerome's Vulgate
The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.
The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels ...
translation into Latin then brought all the new meanings of ''eirene'' to the Latin word ''pax'' and transformed it from a term for an imposed order of the sword, the ''Pax Romana'', into the chief image of peace for Western Christianity.Musto, Ronald G., ''The Catholic Peace Tradition'', Orbis Books, 1986New Testament
The Gospels present the birth of Jesus as ushering in a new age of peace. In Luke, Zechariah celebrates his son John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
:
And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace.And later, the angels appear to the shepherds at Bethlehem, "And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests'" – a peace distinct from the
Pax Romana
The Pax Romana ( Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is identified as a period and as a golden age of increased as well as sustained Roman imperialism, relative peace and order, prosperous stabilit ...
.
The Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount ( anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is ...
(Mt. 5:1-16) and the Sermon on the Plain (Lk. 6:20-45) combine with the call to "love your enemies" (Mt. 5:38-48) to encapsulate Jesus' teachings on peacemaking. According to Gabriel Moran, the Sermon on the Mount does not advocate submission to oppressors, but rather a strategy to "de-hostilize enemies in order to win them over".Moran, Gabriel. "Roman Catholic Tradition and Passive Resistance", New York University/ref> The account of the healing of the centurion's servant suggests to John Eppstein that Jesus did not view military service as sinful, since rather than reprove the soldier for his profession, Jesus praised him for his faith. Nor did Peter require Cornelius to resign his commission or desert upon being baptized.Eppstein, John. ''The Catholic Tradition of the Law of Nations'', Burns & Oates, London, 1935
/ref> John the Baptist's advice to soldiers was, "Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages."
Early Church
Early Christianity was relatively pacifist.McCormick, Patrick. "Catholic Social Teaching & the Catholic Intellectual Tradition", The Catholic University/ref> Clement of Alexandria wrote, ""If you enroll as one of God's people, heaven is your country and God your lawgiver. And what are his laws? You shall not kill, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. To him that strikes you on the one cheek, turn to him the other also." (Protrepticus 10) "Selected Quotations", ''War, Peace and Conscience in the Catholic Tradition''
/ref> The early Christians anticipated the eminent return of the Lord in glory, even to the extent that Paul had to tell some of them to get back to work. Generally they were not deeply involved in the larger community. As it became apparent that a more nuanced understanding was called for, Christians came to realize that if they were to survive socially they could not remain within the confines of their own community.Massaro, S.J. and Shannon, Thomas A., ''Catholic Perspectives on Peace and War'', Sheed & Ward, 2003
Christians in the Roman Army
St. Paul wrote, "Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. ... This is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, toll to whom toll is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due."
The early Christian church believed that Christians should not take up arms in any war, and so struggled attempting to balance the obligation to be a good citizen and the question of whether it was permissible to take up arms to defend one's country. There developed a gap between the reasoning of the moral theorists and the practice of the private citizen.
As early as second century, Christians began to participate in Roman military, police, and government in large numbers. Military service was one way available to make a living, and on the borders of the empire there was a need to defend against barbarian incursions. As the army came to take on duties more in the line of police work: traffic and customs control, firefighting, the apprehension of criminals and bandits, maintaining the peace, quelling street brawls, and performing the roles of engineering, clearance, and other works of building for which the Roman army was well known, this choice became less problematic. The numbers of soldiers that came to be counted among the later martyrs indicates that many Christians served in the military, despite their abhorrence of war.
From about the middle of the second century, officers in the Roman army were expected to participate in the Imperial Cult and sacrifice to the emperor. During the reign of Diocletian this obligation was extended to the lower ranks, as a test for those suspected of being Christian. Christians were therefore counseled not to enlist so as to avoid needless blood guilt and the risk of idolatry, but should nonetheless continue to pray for the civil authorities.
Among the better-known soldier saints are Saint Marinus
Saint Marinus (; it, San Marino) was an Early Christian and the founder of a chapel and monastery in 301 from whose initial community the state of San Marino later grew.
Life
Tradition holds that he was a stonemason by trade who came from the ...
, Marcellus of Tangier, and Maximilian of Tebessa
Saint Maximilian of Tebessa, also known as Maximilian of Numidia, ( la, Maximilianus; AD 274–295) was a Christian saint and martyr, whose feast day is observed on 12 March. Born in AD 274, the son of Fabius Victor, an official connected to the ...
, and Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...
.
Martyrdom as non-violent protest
Persecutions were sporadic and the third century, largely local. By and large the Roman government didn't pay much attention to Christianity.
Christians sought to live the injunction to love their enemies while resisting their evil, even if this involved persecution and death: these were the martyrs
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
. The word ''martyr'' is the Greek for "witness". The early martyrs followed a long-standing tradition; John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
was beheaded for "speaking truth to power". They also had as examples St. Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
, the apostles James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambigua ...
, Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...
, and Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the C ...
, and others.Philpott, Daniel. "The Early Church", Notre Dame UniversityThe sufferings of the martyrs were therefore not an act of suicide or some masochistic form of passive weakness that found its fulfillment in torture and death at the hands of the Romans. Theirs was an act of commitment carried out in the public arena, designed to show the enemy that what is worth living for is also worth dying for. According to Josephine Laffin, martyrdom demonstrated to all that Christ had overcome death, and that the Holy Spirit sustained the Church in its fight against darkness and evil.Laffin, Josephine. ''What Does it Mean to be a Saint?: Reflections on Mary MacKillop, Saints and Holiness in the Catholic Tradition'', p. 85, Wakefield Press, 2010
Martyrs of Cordoba
The Martyrs of Córdoba were forty-eight Christian martyrs living in the ninth-century Muslim-ruled Al-Andalus. Their hagiography describes in detail their executions for deliberately sought capital violations of Muslim law in Al-Andalus. The martyrdoms recorded by Eulogius took place between 851 and 859; with few exceptions, the Christians invited execution by making public statements tactically chosen to invite martyrdom by appearing before the Muslim authorities to denounce Islam. The martyrs caused tension not only between Muslims and Christians, but within the Christian community. In December 852 Church leaders called a council in Cordoba, which honored those fallen but called on Christians to refrain from seeking martyrdom.
Recent historical interpretation of the martyr movement reflect questions on its nature. Kenneth Baxter Wolf sees its cause in "spiritual anxiety" and the penitential aspect of ninth-century Iberian Christianity. Clayton J. Drees sees their motives in a "pathological death-wish, the product of unexpressed hatred toward society that had turned inward against themselves" and other innate "psychological imbalances". Jessica A. Coope suggests that it reflects a protest against the process of assimilation, and that the martyrs demonstrated a determination to assert Christian identity.Coope, Jessica A., ''The Martyrs of Córdoba: Community and Family Conflict in an Age of Mass Conversion'', p. 14, University of Nebraska Press, 1995Age of Constantine
With the triumph of Constantine as sole Roman emperor in 313, the church of the martyrs now found itself an accepted and favored religion, soon to become the official religion of the state. Constantine had an emblem inscribed on the shields of his soldiers that has been various described as representing the "Unconquerable Sun" or as a Chi-Rho
The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters— chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek word ( Christos) in such a way th ...
. Eileen Egan quotes Burkhardt's observation that this was "an emblem which every man could interpret as he pleased, but which the Christians would refer to themselves."
As the religion of the empire, its survival was tied to the fate of the Empire. The threat of increased barbarian incursions therefore threatened both, and defense of the Empire was appropriate in order to protect Christianity. The early trend toward pacifism became muted.
Ambrose of Milan, former Pretorian Prefect of northern Italy before being elected bishop of Milan, preserved the Christian presumption against the use of violence, unless it was needed to protect important social values. While rejecting resorting to violence in self-defense, he argued that charity demanded one protect one's neighbour.Duncan C.Ss.R., Bruce. "The Struggle to Develop a Just War Tradition in the West", Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, April 8, 2003/ref> "He who does not ward off injury from his comrade, when he is able to, is just as guilty as he who does the injury."Egan, Eileen. ''Peace Be with You: Justified Warfare or the Way of Nonviolence'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2004
When the Empress Justina sought to have the new basilica in Milan turned over to the Arians, Ambrose, supported by the faithful, occupied it himself in what Egan identifies as an example of non-violent resistance.
Augustine of Hippo
Following Ambrose,Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...
thought that the Christian, in imitation of Jesus, should not use violence to defend himself, but however, had an obligation to aid a victim under attack.
Augustine of Hippo agreed strongly with the conventional wisdom of his time, that Christians should be pacifists philosophically, but that they should use defense as a means of preserving peace in the long run. He routinely argued that pacifism did not prevent the defence of innocents. In essence, the pursuit of peace might require fighting to preserve it in the long-term. Such a war must not be preemptive, but defensive, to restore peace.
Augustine drew on Roman tradition to view a "just war" as one prosecuted under lawful authority for a just cause, i.e., repelling aggression or injury, retaking something wrongly seized, or to punish wrongdoing. Later other theorists expanded on this. War must be the last resort, have a reasonable chance of success, and produce more good than harm. The church also argued that non-combatants must be protected.
Augustine drew no distinction between offensive and defensive wars, since remedying injuries was a just cause apart from defence. Against the threat of chaos and breakdown of civil order, a man may wage war justly but lament his unavoidable duty.
Barbarian Invasions
During Augustine's last days Vandals invaded North Africa. Barbarian incursions which later swept Europe in succeeding centuries resulted in a collapse of learning and culture, and population decline. There is a long historical tradition that has collected ample evidence to show that the Roman Empire itself was undergoing profound social, economic, and spiritual changes that were only hastened by the invasions. As the Western Empire crumbled the Church became the stabilizing force for order and peace. The Christian peacemakers of this period were not the dominant cultural or political force of their time, but were either marginalized minorities — as in the case of the Roman Empire or — as in the case of the missionaries who evangelized the barbarians — were actually reaching out from an oppressive and collapsing world to an anarchic one that offered the seeds of a new society. Among the more important figures of active peacemaking or of intellectual life worth further study wereMartin of Tours
Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...
, Salvian of Marseilles, Nicetas of Remesiana, Germanus of Auxerre
Germanus of Auxerre ( la, Germanus Antissiodorensis; cy, Garmon Sant; french: Saint Germain l'Auxerrois; 378 – c. 442–448 AD) was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a h ...
, Severinus of Noricum
Severinus of Noricum ( 410 – 8 January 482) is a saint, known as the "Apostle to Noricum". It has been speculated that he was born in either Southern Italy or in the Roman province of Africa. Severinus himself refused to discuss his persona ...
, St. Patrick, St. Genevieve of Paris, Columban, and St. Boniface of Crediton.
Monasticism
It is no coincidence that the appearance of the first monks comes within a few years of Constantine's assumption of power and the alliance of church and empire that he forged. Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and ...
identified one of the reasons individuals sought out the desert was that they "declined to be ruled by men, but had no desire to rule over others themselves'. Others sought to imitate Jesus' own time spent in the desert.
Monasticism was, in a sense, a continuation of martyrdom, reaffirming the contradiction between the Church and the world, by fleeing from the corruption of civilization in order to seek a greater treasure.Hitchcock, James. ''History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium'', Ignatius Press, 2012Christian monasticism started in Egypt, then spread to Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and finally to Italy and southern Gaul. Anthony the Hermit ( 251-356), the founder of monasticism, and
Pachomius
Pachomius (; el, Παχώμιος ''Pakhomios''; ; c. 292 – 9 May 348 AD), also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May, ...
(c. 290-346) were the prototypes.
Penitentials
The penitentials, written by Irish monks, were a series of manuals designed for priests who heard confessions that specified certain penances for certain categories of sins. These "penitentials" borrowed inspiration and specific regulations from the early church councils, monastic rules, and the letters of popes and bishops. Many of the regulations at first paralleled those aimed at insuring the special status of the clergy, including its nonviolence, but were gradually extended to the lay population. Penances ranged from fasting on bread and water for week, paying compensation to victims in money, goods or property, exile, pilgrimage, and excommunication. Readmission to Christian community was possible only after the completion of the prescribed penance. These manuals proved to be such a concise and effective method for conceptualizing and standardizing notions of sin and repentance that they spread from Ireland to the Continent in a wide variety of collections that became enshrined in official collections of church law by the twelfth century. The penitentials are of great value for studying early medieval notions of violence, its seriousness and its consequences in a variety of actions, circumstances, and classes of victims. The texts assign penances for killing in wartime, even under the lawful command of legitimate authority.Winwright, Tobias. "Make Us Channels of Your Peace", ''Gathered for the Journey: Moral Theology in Catholic Perspective'', David Matzko McCarthy, and M. Therese Lysaught eds., Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007, 9780802825957/ref> Penances lasting from forty days to a year for killing someone in battle, were not uncommon. Following Augustine, war was seen as inherently sinful, and at best the lesser of two evils.Allman, Mark. ''Who Would Jesus Kill?: War, Peace, and the Christian Tradition'', "The Middle Ages", Saint Mary's Press, 2008
The Middle Ages
The Carolingian period saw the emergence of both a renewed Roman Empire of the West and the beginning of fresh barbarian invasions from the north and east and the rise of Islam. Internal efforts to legislate the life of the Christian Republic were therefore matched by its external defense against invasions by the Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...
, Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
, and Saracens
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...
. The problems and conditions were in many ways similar to those of Christian thinkers under the late Roman Empire when the state was identified with Christian society. The Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...
thus brought a renewed militarization of society that sought to protect Christendom from external threat, while it used the hierarchical bonds of feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
oaths and vassalage to bring the new class of mobile horse warriors, the ''milities'', to some semblance of central authority. War took on a religious dimension as evidenced by liturgical formulae for the blessings of armies and weapons.
The close identification of the Carolingian Empire with the extent of Western Christianity revived the late Roman associations of ''Christianitas'' (Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwin ...
) with the ''orbis Romanus'' or ''oikoumene'' (the Roman world). On the most official levels Christian peace necessitated its defense against the attacks of external enemies.
Christian peace involved the monastic or ascetic peace of a pure heart and life devoted to prayer; the episcopal peace, or pax ecclesiae, of a properly functioning free and unified church; and the social or imperial peace of the world. These often overlapped.
Carolingian theory established two, separate, ecclesiastical and secular spheres of authority within Christian society, one to lead the body and one the spirit. Monastic life was supported, and encouraged; while late Roman prohibitions against clerical participation in the army were repeated again and again. Among the thinkers and writers on issues of peace and peacemaking were Alcuin of York
Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student ...
, Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel, Paschasius Radbertus
Paschasius Radbertus (785–865) was a Carolingian theologian and the abbot of Corbie, a monastery in Picardy founded in 657 or 660 by the queen regent Bathilde with a founding community of monks from Luxeuil Abbey. His most well-known and influ ...
, and Hincmar of Rheims. In keeping with their time, these offered various interpretations of peace as an inner tranquillity, legal guidelines to war and the curbing of military violence, or the image of peace as an ideal Christian state.
The Cain Adomnan
The ''Cáin Adomnáin'' (Law of Adomnán), also known as the ''Lex Innocentium'' (Law of Innocents) was promulgated amongst a gathering of Irish,Dál Riata
Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is ...
n and Pictish
Pictish is the extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geograph ...
notables at the Synod of Birr in 697. It is named after its initiator Adomnán of Iona, ninth Abbot of Iona
The Abbot of Iona was the head of Iona Abbey during the Middle Ages and the leader of the monastic community of Iona, as well as the overlord of scores of monasteries in both Scotland and Ireland, including Durrow, Kells and, until the Synod of ...
after St. Columba
Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is tod ...
. As a successor of Columba of Iona, Adomnán had sufficient prestige to assemble a conference of ninety-one chieftains and clerics from Ireland, Dál Riata, and Pictland at Birr to promulgate the new law. As well as being the site of a significant monastery, associated with Saint Brendan of Birr, Birr was close to the boundary between the Uí Néill-dominated northern half of Ireland, and the southern half, where the kings of Munster ruled. It therefore represented a neutral ground where the rival kings and clerics of north and south Ireland could meet.
This set of laws were designed, among other things, to guarantee the safety and immunity of various types of non-combatants in warfare."Law of the Innocents", Foghlam AlbaThe laws provided sanctions against the killing of children, clerics, clerical students and peasants on clerical lands; against rape, against impugning the chastity of a noblewoman, and prohibited women from having to take part in warfare. Various factors, including Marian devotion in seventh- and eighth-century Ireland, may have contributed to inspire Adomnán to introduce these laws. Many of these things were already crimes, under the Irish
Brehon Laws
Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Nor ...
. The law described both the secular fines which criminals must pay, and the ritual curses to which law-breakers were subject.
The indigenous Brehon Laws
Early Irish law, historically referred to as (English: Freeman-ism) or (English: Law of Freemen), also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. They were partially eclipsed by the Nor ...
were committed to parchment about the seventh century, most likely by clerics. Most scholars now believe that the secular laws were not compiled independently of monasteries. Adomnan would have had access to the best legal minds of his generation. Adomnan's ''Cain'' combined aspects of the traditional Brehon laws with an ecclesiastical approach. Following Ambrose and Augustine, bystanders who did nothing to prevent a crime were as liable as the perpetrator.Grigg, Julianna. "Aspects of the Cain: Adomnan's Lex Innocentium", ''Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association'', Vol.1, 2005/ref> "Stewards of the Law" collected the fine and paid it to the victim or next of kin. Adomnán's initiative appears to be one of the first systematic attempts to lessen the savagery of warfare among Christians. In it he gave local expression, in the context of the Gaelic legal tradition, to a wider Christian movement to restrain violence. It was an early example of international law in that it was to be enforced in Ireland and northern Scotland, for it was the kings of those regions who were in attendance and signed as guarantors of the Law.
Peace of God
As Carolingian authority began to erode, especially on the outskirts of power, as in southernGaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the Eas ...
, the episcopate took steps to protect their congregations and their holdings against the encroachments of local nobles. The Peace of God originated in the conciliar assemblies of the late Carolingian period. It began in Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janua ...
, Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...
and Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximat ...
, areas where central authority had most completely fragmented.
A limited ''Pax Dei'' was decreed at the Synod of Charroux in 989 and spread to most of Western Europe over the next century, surviving in some form until at least the thirteenth century.
A great crowd of many people (''populus'') gathered from the Poitou
Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...
, the Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vi ...
, and neighboring regions. Relics of saints were displayed and venerated. The participation of large, enthusiastic crowds marks it as one of the first popular religious movements of the Middle Ages. In the early phase, the blend of relics and crowds, and enthusiasm stamped the movement with an exceptionally popular character.Landes, Richard. "Peace of God: ''Pax Dei''/ref> The ''Peace of God'' or ''Pax Dei'' was a proclamation issued by local clergy that decreed immunity from armed violence to noncombatants who could not defend themselves, beginning with the peasants (''agricolae'') and the clergy. It included the clergy and their possessions; the poor; women; peasants along with their tools, animals, mills, vineyards, and labor; and later pilgrims and merchants: in short, the vast majority of the medieval population who neither bore arms, nor were entitled to bear them. Children and women were added to the early protections. Merchants and their goods were added to the protected groups in a synod of 1033. The ''Pax Dei'' prohibited nobles from invading churches, beating the defenseless, and burning houses.
Excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
would be the punishment for attacking or robbing a church, for robbing peasants or the poor of farm animals and for robbing, striking or seizing a priest or any man of the clergy "who is not bearing arms". Making compensation or reparations could circumvent the anathema of the Church.
After a lull in the first two decades of the eleventh century, the movement spread to the north with the support of king Robert, the Capetian. There, the high nobility sponsored peace assemblies throughout Flanders, Burgundy, Champagne, Normandy, Amienois, and Berry. By 1041 the peace had spread throughout France and had reached Flanders and Italy. From c. 1018 the peace was extended to Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
and reached Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, Girona
Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...
, and Urgel. Assemblies were repeated all over western Europe into the 1060s.
Truce of God
The Truce of God or ''Treuga Dei'' had its origin in Normandy in the city of Caen.Watkin, William Ward. "The Middle Ages: The Approach to the Truce of God", ''The Rice Institute Pamphlet'', Vol. XXIX, No. 4, October, 1942/ref> It dates from the eleventh century. While the Truce of God was a temporary suspension of hostilities, as distinct from the Peace of God which was permanent, the jurisdiction of the Truce of God was broader. The Peace of God prohibited fighting on Sundays, and ferial days (feast days on which people were not obliged to work). It was the sanctification of Sunday which gave rise to the Truce of God, for it had always been agreed not to do battle on that day and to suspend disputes in the law-courts. It confirmed permanent peace for all churches and their grounds, the monks, clerks and chattels; all women, pilgrims, merchants and their servants, cattle and horses; and men at work in the fields. For all others peace was required throughout Advent, the season of Lent, and from the beginning of the Rogation days until eight days after Pentecost. This prohibition was subsequently extended to specific days of the week, viz., Thursday, in memory of the Ascension, Friday, the day of the Passion, and Saturday, the day of the Resurrection (council 1041). By the middle of the twelfth century the number of proscribed days was extended until there was left some eighty days for fighting. The Truce soon spread from France to Italy and Germany; the oecumenical council of 1179 extended the institution to the whole Church by Canon xxi, "De treugis servandis", which was inserted in the collection of canon law, Decretal of Gregory IX, I, tit., "De treuga et pace".
/ref> Aquinas challenged the Truce, holding that it was lawful to wage war to safeguard the commonweal on holy days and feast days.
Thomas Aquinas
In his ''Summa Theologica'', Thomas Aquinas expands Augustine's arguments to define the conditions under which a war could be just: * War must occur for a good and just purpose rather than the pursuit of wealth or power. * Just war must be waged by a properly instituted authority such as the state. * Peace must be a central motive even in the midst of violence.The Crusades
Religious thinkers and secular writers attempted to incorporate the controls of the Peace and Truce of God into the existing warrior ethic by "Christianizing" it into the Crusades and the cult ofchivalry
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed ...
. Beginning in the eleventh century, knighthood developed a religious character. Prospective knights underwent rigorous religious rituals in order to be initiated. An initiate had to fast, confess his sins, was given a symbolic bath, had his hair cut to represent humility, and he spent a night praying, his weapons upon an altar representing the dedication of his weapons to the Church and God. Advancements in metallurgy allowed inscriptions and pictures of holy symbols to be engraved on helmets, swords, shields, and other equipment. The symbols allowed for a physical reminder to knights and military men that God was supporting their efforts, providing protection to those soldiers as well as the assurance of a victory over their enemies.
Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...
is equally famous for his failed crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
and for the settlement of disputes and the maintenance of peace within Christian lands. He issued the first extant ordinance indefinitely prohibiting warfare in France, a text dating from January 1258 that outlawed guerrae omnes as well as arson, and disturbances to carts and to agricolae who work with carts or plows. Those who transgressed this prohibition were to be punished as peace-breakers (fractores pacis) by the king's officer and the bishop-elect of le Puy-en-Velay. Louis IX promulgated this text as a simple royal act on the basis of his authority as king.Firnhaber-Baker, Justine. "From God's Peace to the King's Order: Late Medieval Limitations on Non-Royal Warfare", ''Essays in Medieval Studies'', Volume 23, 2006, pp. 19-30/ref>
Alternatives to the Crusades
Christian missionary work was presented as a viable alternative to the violence of the crusaders. Majorcan Franciscan BlessedRamon Llull
Ramon Llull (; c. 1232 – c. 1315/16) was a philosopher, theologian, poet, missionary, and Christian apologist from the Kingdom of Majorca.
He invented a philosophical system known as the ''Art'', conceived as a type of universal logic to p ...
(1232-1315) argued that the conversion of Muslims should be achieved through prayer, not through military force, and pressed for the study of Arabic to prepare potential missionaries. He traveled through Europe to meet with popes, kings, and princes, trying to establish special colleges to prepare them.
Renaissance and Reformation (c. 1400 – c. 1800)
Humanism
Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
laid a foundation for religious toleration
Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...
. In ''De libero arbitrio'', he noted that religious disputants should be temperate in their language, "because in this way the truth, which is often lost amidst too much wrangling may be more surely perceived." Gary Remer writes, "Like Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, Erasmus concludes that truth is furthered by a more harmonious relationship between interlocutors." Although Erasmus did not oppose the punishment of heretics, in individual cases he generally argued for moderation and against the death penalty. He wrote, "It is better to cure a sick man than to kill him."
Age of Exploration
Francisco de Vitoria was a Spanish Dominican philosopher, considered one of the founders of early international law. He was educated at the College Saint-Jacques in Paris, where he was influenced by the work of Desidarius Erasmus. In 1524, he held the Chair of theology at the University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is th ...
, where a number of missionaries returning from the New World expressed concern regarding treatment of the indigenous inhabitants. In three lectures held between 1537 and 1539 Vitoria concluded that the Indians were rightful owners of their property and that their chiefs validly exercised jurisdiction over their tribes. A supporter of the just war theory
The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is ...
, in ''De iure belli'' Fransico pointed out that the underlying predicate conditions for a "just war" were "wholly lacking in the Indies".Salas Jr., Victor M., "Francisco de Vitoria on the ''Ius Gentium'' and the American Indios", ''Ave Maria Law Review'', 2012Vitoria adopted from Aquinas the Roman law concept of ''ius gentium'' ("the law of nations"). His defense of American Indians was based on a Scholastic understanding of the intrinsic dignity of man, a dignity he found being violated by Spain's policies in the New World. Dominican friar Pedro de Córdoba OP (c. 1460–1525) was a Spanish missionary on the island of Hispaniola. He was first to denounce the system of forced labor known as the Encomienda, imposed on the native inhabitants. Other important figures include
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( ; ; 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman then became a Dominican fria ...
and Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur
Catholic Universalism
Émeric Crucé was a French monk who took the position that wars were the result of international misunderstandings and the domination of society by the warrior class, both of which could be reduced through commerce, as that brought people together. The genesis of the idea of a meeting of representatives of different nations to obtain by peaceful arbitration a settlement of differences has been traced to Crucé's 1623 work entitled ''The New Cyneas'', a discourse showing the opportunities and the means for establishing a general peace and liberty of conscience to all the world, addressed to the monarch and the sovereign princes of the time. He proposed that a city, preferably Venice, should be selected where all the Powers had ambassadors including all peoples.Modern Church (to c. 1945)
Kulturkampf
From 1871 to 1878, Chancellor Bismarck, who controlled both the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, launched the "Kulturkampf
(, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...
" in Prussia to reduce the power of the Catholic Church in public affairs, and keep Polish Catholics under control. Thousands of priests and bishops were harassed or imprisoned, with large fines and closures of Catholic churches and schools. German was declared to be the only official language, but in practice the Poles only adhered more closely to their traditions. Catholics were angry at his systematic attacks. Unanimous in their resistance, they organized themselves to fight back politically, using their strength in other states such as Catholic Bavaria. There was little or no violence, and the new Roman Catholic Center Party won a quarter of the seats in the ''Reichstag'' (Imperial Parliament), and its middle position on most issues allowed it to play a decisive role in the formation of majorities. The culture war gave secularists and socialists an opportunity to attack all religions, an outcome that distressed the Protestants, including Bismarck. After the death of Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
in 1878 Bismarck opened negotiations with Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
, which led to his gradual abandonment of the Kulturkampf in the early 1880s.
Caritas
The first Caritas organisation was established by Lorenz Worthmann 9 November 1897 in Germany. Other national Caritas organisations were soon formed in Switzerland (1901) and the United States (Catholic Charities, 1910). It has since grown into "Caritas Internationalis", a confederation of 165 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. Caritas Australia is involved in peacebuilding and reconciliation programs in Sri Lanka, The Philippines, Papua New Guinea and elsewhere, including Movimento de Defesa do Fevelado (MDF) which trains youth to be peacebuilders in São Paulo, Brazil in response to an increasing number of children becoming involved in drugs, organised crime and murders. It is hoped these trainees will become the next generation of leaders in their communities. In an effort to overcome many prejudices and fears between different nationalities, ethnic and religious groups. The Salzburg branch of Caritas Osterreich sponsors a Peace Camp for unprivileged children of different religious denominations from all over the Middle East. The camp takes place in a different country in the region each year. Since 1999 almost 900 children and youths from nine different countries and eighteen different religious denominations have participated in the program.Fascism and Nazism
Bishop Konrad von Preysing was one of the most firm and consistent of senior Catholics to oppose the Nazis. He and BishopClemens August Graf von Galen
Clemens Augustinus Emmanuel Joseph Pius Anthonius Hubertus Marie Graf von Galen (16 March 1878 – 22 March 1946), better known as ''Clemens August Graf von Galen'', was a German count, Bishop of Münster, and cardinal of the Catholic Churc ...
, along with Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
, were part of a committee that drafted the 1937 encyclical ''Mit brennender Sorge'' which warned Catholics that the growing Nazi ideology, which exalted one race over all others, was incompatible with Catholic Christianity.
Austrian Bishop Gfoellner of Linz had the encyclical read from the pulpits of his diocese. Bishop Gfoellner indicated that the dangers of German Catholics were also the dangers of Austrian Catholics: "What I wrote in my pastoral of January 21, 1933. 'It is impossible to be at once a good Catholic and a good National-Socialist,' is confirmed today." The release of ''Mit brennender Sorge'' precipitated an intensification of the Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church in Germany
The Roman Catholic Church suffered persecution in Nazi Germany. The Nazis claimed jurisdiction over all collective and social activity. Clergy were watched closely, and frequently denounced, arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps. Welfare ...
.Ian Kershaw; Hitler a Biography; 2008 Edn; W.W. Norton & Co; London; pp. 381–82 With the death of Cathedral Provost Bernhard Lichtenberg
Bernhard Lichtenberg (; 3 December 1875 – 5 November 1943) was a German Catholic priest who became known for repeatedly speaking out, after the rise of Adolf Hitler and during the Holocaust, against the persecution and deportation of the Jew ...
while en route to Dachau, Margarete Sommer took over supervising the work of Preysing's Welfare Office. Sommer coordinated Catholic aid for victims of racial persecution – giving spiritual comfort, food, clothing, and money. She gathered intelligence on the deportations of the Jews, and living conditions in concentration camps, as well as on SS firing squads, writing several reports on these topics from 1942.Margarete SommerGerman Resistance Memorial Centre, Index of Persons; retrieved at 4 September 2013 Belgian Cardinal Jozef-Ernest van Roey was deeply opposed to
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, and once said, "With Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
we step many degrees downward and reach the lowest possible depths. We have a duty of conscience to combat and to strive for the defeat of these dangers ... Reason and good sense both direct us towards confidence, towards resistance". Cardinal van Roey intervened with the authorities to rescue Jews from the Nazis, and encouraged various institutions to aid Jewish children. One of his acts of rescue was to open a geriatric centre in which Jews were housed, at which kosher Jewish cooks would be required who could therefore be given special passes protecting them from deportation. Papal Nuncio Angelo Roncalli used diplomatic couriers, papal representatives and the Sisters of Our Lady of Zion to transport and issue baptismal certificates, immigration certificates and visas – many of them forged – to Hungarian Jews.
Pallottine priest Franz Reinisch was beheaded SAC for refusing to take the oath of allegiance to Hitler. When his offer to serve as a medic was denied, Franciscan tertiary Franz Jaegerstatter was executed as a conscientious objector. Both encountered clergy who thought that they failed in their duty to their country.
Contemporary Catholicism (c. 1963 – present)
Europe
PopeJohn XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
(1958–63) set off a revolution in Roman Catholic thought and life that harkened back to an earlier period for its models and inspiration and brought the church into a new age. Through his policy of ''aggiornamento'' the pope opened the church to the modern world. Russell Hittinger describes the encyclical ''Pacem in Terris'' "as a kind of magna charta of the Catholic Church's position on human rights and natural law".Hittinger, Russell. "Quinquagesimo Ante: Reflections on Pacem in Terris Fifty Years Later", ''The Global Quest for Tranquillitas Ordinis. Pacem in Terris, Fifty Years Later Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences'', Acta 18, 2013/ref> John's successors
Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augu ...
and John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
furthered this agenda while maintaining traditional church teachings in many areas of individual and social morality.
In the 1980s the Polish Solidarity movement grew out of labor strikes in the shipyard at Gdańsk. It was the first non-Communist Party-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country, and became a broad social movement, using civil resistance
Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: it ...
to advance the causes of workers' rights and social change.
British historian Timothy Garton Ash, observed shortly after Pope John Paul II's death, "without the Polish Pope, no Solidarity revolution in Poland in 1980; without Solidarity, no dramatic change in Soviet policy towards eastern Europe under Gorbachev; without that change, no velvet revolutions in 1989.
Latin America
Under the guidance of Archbishop Hélder Câmara, the Catholic church in Brazil became an outspoken critic of the 1964-85 military dictatorship and a powerful movement for social change.Bellos, Alex. "Helder Camara" (obit), ''The Guardian'', August 31, 1999/ref> Léonie Duquet and Alice Domon were French religious sisters abducted in December 1977 by an Argentine death squad for their support of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in their efforts to learn the fate of those disappeared by the then ruling military regime. Later that month a number of bodies washed ashore south of Buenos Aires and were subsequently secretly buried. Duquet was among those later disinterred and identified. In El Salvador, Father Rutilio Grande spoke against the injustices at the hands of an oppressive government, and dedicated his life's work to organizing the impoverished, marginalized rural farmers of El Salvador as they demanded respect for their rights. Father Grande and two others were killed by machine gun fire, while on the way to say Mass.
Africa
Denis Hurley O.M.I. was the South African Roman Catholic Archbishop of Durban. Hurley was among the first church leaders to denounce apartheid, condemning the policy as an affront to human dignity.Shaw, Gerald. "Archbishop Denis Hurley" (obit), ''The Guardian'', February 18, 2004/ref> In the late 1970s Hurley held a daily silent protest, standing in front of the central Durban Post Office for a period each day with a placard expressing his opposition to apartheid and the displacement of people from their homes.
/ref> He received many death threats and was at times subject to house arrest. According to Gerald Shaw writing for ''The Guardian'', "It was in part due to his sustained moral crusade and that of other churchmen that the transition to democracy, when it came in 1994, was accepted by white people in peace and good order." Hurley is remembered for his contribution to the struggle against apartheid, his concern for the poor and his commitment towards a more just and peaceful society.
Asia
Jaime Sin
Jaime Lachica Sin ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from ...
was the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila, who "played a key role in the Philippines' transition to democracy following the lengthy dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. The Associated Press called Sin "the Philippines' moral compass"."Philippines' Cardinal Sin dies at 76", NBC News, June 20, 2005/ref> Beyond its effects on the Philippines, the peaceful ouster of Marcos has been cited as a milestone in the movement toward popularly chosen governments throughout the world.
/ref>
United States
During World War I, Ben Salmon was a conscientious objector and outspoken critic ofJust War
The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is ...
theology. The US military charged him with desertion and spreading propaganda, then sentenced him to death, a sentence later commuted to twenty-five years hard labor.
During world War II, Out of a total of 21 million Catholics only 223 claimed IV-E CO status, conscientious objection to military service; 135 were eventually classified. Most Catholic objectors chose I-A-O status, noncombatant military service, generally as unarmed medics on the front lines. In addition to these 135 Catholic conscientious objectors, 61 Catholics refused induction and were imprisoned.
Initially founded as the War Relief Services, the original purpose of Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...
was to aid the refugees of war-torn Europe. The continuing support of the American Catholic helped CRS expand operations and in 1955 its name was officially changed to Catholic Relief Services. Over time the agency learned that to supply emergency aid without addressing the underlying problems might prolong conflict by providing new resources to the warring parties. In light of that, CRS has re-evaluated how best to focus their activities. In some countries CRS works on providing peace education for children in refugee camps or improving relations between refugees and local inhabitants. It works in ninety-three countries in programs that address hunger, the provision of clean water, and health issues.
After the war Catholic peacemaking narrowed down to a very few institutions, including the Catholic Worker Movement, and individuals, including Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-kno ...
, Ammon Hennacy, and Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and ...
. After the war, activities were carried on by such individuals as Joseph Fahey and Eileen Egan who were instrumental in the creation of Pax Christi
Pax Christi International is an international Catholic peace traditions, Catholic peace movement. The Pax Christi International website declares its mission is "to transform a world shaken by violence, terrorism, deepening inequalities, and global ...
.
Papal diplomacy and arbitration
The institutional church, and especially the papacy, long sought to use its authority to promote peace and justice, and like all human institutions, has met with mixed results. The first was primarily in the area of international diplomacy; the second was the realm of canon law and of theology, in attempts to define the limits of war and violence; and the third, among the Scholastics who investigated the boundaries of individual conscience. For Medieval Europe, canon law served as a code of international law.Mattingly, Garrett. ''Renaissance Diplomacy'', 1955/ref> According to Garret Mattingly,
since the eleventh century, the canonists had been pre-occupied with many of the problems which we think of as belonging to public international law, with the definition of sovereignty, with the sanctity of treaties, with the preservation of peace, with the rights of neutrals and noncombatants, and with the mitigation of the rigours of war.In the thirteenth century the Papacy became the first Western power to make a systematic use of diplomacy. The papacy, in fact, can be regarded as the originator of many of the most basic elements of modern diplomacy and international law: the protection and safe conduct of ambassadors, the secrecy of diplomatic negotiations, the insistence that treaties and their terms, once made, are to be strictly adhered to, the condemnation of violations, provisions for the release of prisoners and hostages and their humane treatment while in detention, the protection of exiles, aliens, and racial minorities, and the condemnation of unjust wars all derive from the papal position both as the leader of Christian society and as a force for international unity among secular states. The papacy's association of peace with justice that motivated its active arbitration in international relations also prompted its interest in another area associated with justice, that of ''jus'' or law. In the international sphere this brought the papacy to adopt the ancient Roman theories of the'' jus gentium'', a body of custom and agreements among peoples and sovereign princes, from the tenth century linked with the revival of Roman law in Italy. Closely associated with Roman law and custom was the notion of the just war, which was Christianized by
St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...
and handed on to the Middle Ages through St. Isidore of Seville.
*Pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I ( la, Nicolaus I; c. 800 – 13 November 867), called Nicholas the Great, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority, exerting de ...
(858-67) against the backdrop of Carolingian conquest Nicholas penned what is both a "classic summary of Christian faith and discipline" and a harsh condemnation of war. In his ''Reply to the Inquiry of the Bulgars'', written in 866, Nicholas condemns conversion by force, branding war as a diabolical fraud. While Nicholas concedes that war may be permissible in cases of inescapable necessity, in self-defense, he warns that "in itself it is the devil's work." He advises that deserters (c. 22) and those who refuse to obey orders to kill (c. 23) be treated leniently and gives Boris examples of numerous martyrs who fled in the face of violence. In response to Boris' question as to how Christians are to prepare for war, Nicholas answered that one must employ all the Christian works of mercy that make peace, affirm life, and negate the motives for and works of war.
*During the tenure of Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
, Catholics and Protestants collaborated to found a school in Rome to study international law and train international mediators committed to conflict resolution.
*In 1885 Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
was asked by Spain and Germany to mediate their territorial dispute in the South Pacific.
*Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV ( Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. Hi ...
left a legacy of lasting significance for the papacy and the church in the area of teaching and practice on war and peace. In condemning World War I as a whole without taking sides, the pope did not reason in terms of traditional church teaching about just and unjust wars. He was able to see that modern technology — especially the novelty of aerial bombardment — had made traditional moral calculations and distinctions between combatants and noncombatants increasingly meaningless. Pope Benedict's influence on his successors is clear in Pope Pius XII's attempts to use diplomacy to forestall World War II.
*Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
made Vatican diplomatic resources available in 1962 to the United States and Russia, during the Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United ...
. Over the course of two days, messages was sent between the White House and the Kremlin, with the Vatican serving as the intermediary. The pope's "decisive intervention", as the Associated Press later described it, helped avert nuclear war, in allowing Krushchev to save face and not look weak by being the reasonable leader who kept the peace by removing the missiles from Cuba.
*Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
launched the interreligious prayer for peace gatherings in Assisi in 1986.Wooden, Cindy. "Different Faiths, Same Witness: When Popes Pray for Peace", ''American Catholic'', June 5, 2014, Franciscan Media/ref> *On June 8, 2014 Pope Francis welcoming the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to the Vatican for an evening of peace prayers just weeks after the last round of U.S.-sponsored negotiations collapsed.
See also
*Christian pacifism
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Ch ...
* Just war theory
The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is ...
* Nonviolence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
* Peace and conflict studies
Peace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyzes violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending conflicts (including social conflicts), with a view towards understanding those p ...
References
Bibliography
* Bainton, Roland H. ''Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace''. New York: Abingdon, 1960. * Fahey, Joseph J., ''War and the Christian Conscience: Where Do You Stand?'' Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2005. * * *Merton, Thomas. ''The Nonviolent Alternative''. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1980
* * Musto, Ronald G
''Liberation Theologies: A Research Guide''
New York: Garland, 1991. * * O'Brien, David J. and Thomas A. Shannon, eds
''Renewing the Earth: Catholic Documents on Peace, Justice and Liberation''
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977 * Pagden, Anthony. ''Vitoria: Political Writings'', Cambridge University Press, 1991 * * Zahn, Gordon
''War, Conscience and Dissent''
New York: Hawthorne, 1967.
External links
Mattingly, Garrett. ''Renaissance Diplomacy'', 1955
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic Peace Traditions Catholic theology and doctrine Religion and peace Christian pacifism