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Nuclear Deterrence: A Roman Catholic Viewpoint
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16190 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1989 |
5,760 Words |
| Author
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Austin David
Austin David is assistant to the secretary general of the
Catholic Near East Welfare Association, New York, New York. |
As one views the concepts of the ethics of deterrence, one sees that the boundaries between the sacral and the political become quite cloudy. In attempting to address the issue of the ethics of nuclear deterrence, it is ever so important that we maintain the distinction between the religious (moral/ethical) view of deterrence and the political policies arising from society's effort to maintain an adequate defense for its citizens in the nuclear age. We should note that in many instances the moral or ethical stand of a religious body can run counter to established policy. A current case in point in the United States would be the opposition of the Roman Catholic bishops to abortion.
Correspondingly, at other times in history a religious body might find its moral/ethical views quite congenial to public laws and policy. Here in the United States, many of the Sunday "blue laws" can be traced to the influence of some Protestant believers who hold the Sabbath to be the Lord's Day, which should be strictly observed by all. Thus, to establish a perspective on the Roman Catholic position on nuclear deterrence, it is essential to look briefly at the historical development of the church's teaching on human conflict.
The earliest Christian views on conflict are recorded in the New Testament. The Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5) summarizes the teaching of Jesus on dealing with conflict, in short, to return good for evil. In his letter to the Corinthians and Romans, Saint Paul expanded upon this concept of returning good for evil and of living in peace with one's fellow humans.
Early Christians, a persecuted minority, were accused of undermining the Roman Empire because they refused to perform military service or to hold public office. With the advent of Constantine and his conversion to Christianity, Christians began to wrestle with the problem of reconciling the gospel message with the harsh realities of power and politics. Ambrose and Augustine attempted to deal with this interdependence of church and empire. The concepts of Cicero's just-war theory (first century B.C.) were updated and woven into a Christian theology. Eventually, Augustine developed a concept of absolute pacificism in personal relations, but because of sin in a disordered world, he helped to establish the criteria for just war. Augustine found this distinction necessary because of his teaching on sin and punishment. Clearly, Ambrose and Augustine were making a distinction between the individual's right of self-defense, which he may or may not exercise, and the duty of the state for the defense of its citizens, which it may not
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