Pope Francis holds his crosier as he leads a Lenten penance service in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 25, 2022. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Vatican City, Mar 27, 2022 / 10:36 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has again lamented the war in Ukraine and appealed for peace more than a month after Russia’s invasion.
“Enough. Stop it. Silence the weapons. Move seriously toward peace,” Pope Francis said again in remarks after the Sunday Angelus March 27.
Speaking to a crowd of some 30,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, the pope said more than a month had passed since “the beginning of this cruel and senseless war that, like every war, represents a defeat for everyone, for every one of us.”
“We need to reject war, a place of death where fathers and mothers bury their children, where men kill their brothers and sisters without even having seen them, where the powerful decide and the poor die,” he said.
The pope noted reports that half of all children in Ukraine have been displaced due to the invasion.
“This means destroying the future, causing dramatic trauma in the smallest and most innocent among us,” he said. “This is the bestiality of war – a barbarous and sacrilegious act!”
“War should not be something that is inevitable. We should not accustom ourselves to war,” the pontiff said. “Instead, we need to convert today’s anger into a commitment for tomorrow, because if, after what is happening, we remain like we were before, we will all be guilty in some way. Before the danger of self-destruction, may humanity understand that the moment has come to abolish war, to erase it from human history before it erases human history.”
“I beg every political leader to reflect on this, to dedicate themselves to this! And, looking on battered Ukraine to understand how each day of war worsens the situation for everyone,” said the pope.
“Let us continue to pray untiringly to the Queen of Peace,” he said, noting that he had consecrated humanity and especially Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25.
That prayer of consecration was joined by scores of bishops, priests and lay faithful from around the world. Pope Francis thanked everyone for “such a huge and intense participation.”
The pope also took his plea to social media, using his English-language Twitter account to post his comments in English, Russian and Ukrainian to his nearly 19 million followers there.
The war in Ukraine has displaced some ten million people from their homes, 3.6 million of whom have left for neighboring countries, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has said.
As of March 23 the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded 977 civilian deaths and nearly 1,600 injuries in Ukraine, but considers these figures to be incomplete and far fewer than the final casualty counts, the Washington Post reports.
Thousands of soldiers on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides are believed to have been killed in the fighting, though estimates vary significantly and cannot yet be confirmed.
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Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 4, 2022 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said on Friday that the Church is offering hope to the country’s beleaguered population amid a “very d… […]
The Diocese of Tehuacán, located in the Mexican state of Puebla, reported that Bishop Gonzalo Alonso Calzada Guerrero was driving on a highway when he was “assaulted and his vehicle and personal belongings were stolen.” / Credit: Diocese of Teh… […]
Swiss Guard cadets prepare their armor in the guards’ barracks at the Vatican on April 30, 2024. / Credit: Matthew Santucci/CNA
Vatican City, May 5, 2024 / 17:00 pm (CNA).
For the newest class of 34 Swiss Guards who will be sworn in on Monday, their service is based on faith and a love for the Church and the pope, as storied as the uniform itself.
“For me it was something, first and foremost, to give something to the Church, because the Catholic Church gave us a lot when I was a child and with this service, I can give something back,” explained Nicolas Hirt, one of the new guards who hails from the Swiss canton of Fribourg.
The cadets, joined by their instructors, gathered for a media event on April 30 in the courtyard behind the barracks adjacent to the Sant’Anna entrance, which was adorned with the flags from each of the Swiss cantons.
The Swiss Guard’s annual swearing-in ceremony will take place on Monday, May 6, in the San Damaso courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. There, the new guards will solemnly raise their right hands, with three fingers extended, representing the Holy Trinity, and proclaim their oath: “I swear I will faithfully, loyally, and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff and his legitimate successors and I dedicate myself to them with all my strength. I assume this same commitment with regard to the Sacred College of Cardinals whenever the Apostolic See is vacant.”
Swiss Guard cadets drill at the Vatican on April 30, 2024. Credit: Matthew Santucci/CNA
There was a palpable sense of pride, perhaps even a hint of nervousness, as the young men marched last week in the storied corridors, perfecting the ancient rites ahead of a day that will mark a milestone in their lives.
Renato Peter, who comes from a small village near St. Gallen (the first from his village to enter the guards), said he first developed a desire to enter into the service of the papal guards after a trip to Rome in 2012 with his diocese.
“When you work in the Vatican, you have to feel like you go back in history because a lot of European history has been made here,” said Peter, who is mindful that those who wear the iconic tricolor uniform bear a great responsibility and represent a connection to the history of the Church.
“We are the smallest military in the world,” Peter continued, emphasizing that service in the Swiss Guards is like no other. “But, we are not training to make war. We are like the military, yes, but we’re for the security of the Pope.”
The Swiss Guard is indeed the smallest standing army in the world, numbering only 135 members (Pope Francis increased its ranks from 110 in 2018), protecting not only the smallest sovereign territory in the world, Vatican City State, but also acting as the personal security force of the Holy Father.
This year the Swiss Guard celebrated 518 years of service to the Apostolic See. Its history dates back to Jan. 22, 1506, when 150 Swiss mercenaries, led by Captain Kasper von Silenen from the central Swiss canton of Uri, arrived in Rome at the request of Pope Julius II.
But the swearing-in ceremony takes place on May 6, marking the anniversary of the Sack of Rome in 1527 by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V when 147 guards died protecting Pope Clement VII.
The Swiss Guards form an integral part of the history of the papacy, and a core component of the security apparatus of the Vatican, but they also occupy a special palace in the popular imagination, one underscored by a profound spirituality.
“It’s another world, another culture, and above all doing a fairly unique job, that is to say, there is the protection of the Holy Father,” said Vice-Corporal Eliah Cinotti, spokesman for the guards.
“I don’t think there are many of us who are lucky enough to have the opportunity to serve the Holy Father in that way, therefore the Swiss Guard is a quite unique institution.”
Cinotti observed that for many of the pilgrims coming to Rome, which is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the guards act as a point of encounter between the people and the Church, shedding light on an evangelical dimension of their mission.
“Since we are Swiss Guards and represent the pope, we are also there to be Christians, to listen to these people. There is no specific training for this because it already comes from our Christian character to help others.”
Service in the Swiss Guards is both physically and psychologically demanding, and the entry requirements are strict, even though the guards do not face deployment to active war zones, like conventional soldiers.
A prospective guard must hold Swiss citizenship, be Catholic, single, and male (after five years in service the guards are allowed to marry), and be at least 1.74 meters tall (approximately 5’8”). They are required to have completed secondary school (or the equivalent) and have completed mandatory military service.
Despite what some may consider prohibitive entry restrictions, Cinotti noted, during the annual call for applications there are anywhere from 45-50 applicants, and there has not been a problem with recruitment.
During the first round, prospective candidates go through a preliminary screening and, if selected, they will sit with a recruitment officer in Switzerland for an initial interview, which generally lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour. Candidates also have to undergo an intensive psychological test, to assess whether they can withstand the demands of the job.
Should their candidacy proceed, they are then sent to Rome where, for the first two months, they are exposed to the working environment of the Vatican, and around 56 hours of intensive instruction in Italian. Their instruction also includes an emphasis on their cultural and spiritual formation.
Swiss Guard cadets inspect their armor in their barracks at the Vatican on April 30, 2024. Credit: Matthew Santucci/CNA
The cadets are then sent to the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland, where they are instructed in self-defense and the use of firearms by local police. While the guards carry medieval halberds — an ax blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft — during official papal events, each is equipped with a 9mm GLOCK 19 Gen4 pistol, taser, and pepper spray.
There is also a two-year minimum service requirement after which they can decide to remain, or return to Switzerland.
“About 80% return to Switzerland and 20% stay,” Cinotti said. “And the 80% who return to Switzerland go to the police or the army or return to their basic profession or go to study at university.”
He also noted there have been some years where a guard will discern a vocation to the priesthood. “And we also had a certain point, people who entered the seminary at the time, one per year more or less.”
He added: “We haven’t had anyone for two years, but I think they will arrive, or rather it’s a question of vocations.”
Swiss Guards stand in the middle of Paul VI Hall during Pope Francis’ general audience on Jan. 10, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Cinotti spoke on the myriad security challenges that a guard will have to face in his day-to-day work, which can last anywhere from six to 12 hours of continuous duty, noting that there has been an uptick in the number of people coming to the Vatican for help.
Cinotti also noted that for all of the guards, there has been the additional learning curve of adapting to Pope Francis’ pastoral style, which has brought him in close proximity to the faithful during his audiences in Rome and his travels abroad.
“Pope Francis is like every pope,” Cinotti remarked. “He has his own style, and we must adapt to the pope.”
“If he wants to go to contact the people of God, we must guarantee that, of course, everything is fine, but we cannot prevent it. He does what he wants, he is the pope,” he added.
While this can raise some logistical problems, Cinotti reassured that the guards have been trained to respond to possible threats. He said they have developed a symbiotic, and always professional, relationship with Francis.
“He transmits a certain serenity and a certain awareness that we are there next to him, we are there, like the gendarmerie, which allows us to operate in complete tranquility on the ground without being disturbed,” he said.
“He likes to change plans and will change plans throughout the day,” Cinotti added, “but it suits us very well because we adapt to him and we do this service and for us, it is still important to guarantee his safety.”
Pope Francis will not say this because of political reasons, but I will: this war along with its sufferings is caused by the unjust desires of only one human being, Vladimir Putin.
Certainly the recent aggression rests with Mr. Putin but what interests set up the scenario in the first place & put the Ukraine in harm’s way? The Western nations haven’t been doing the Ukraine any favors by offering them false hopes.
The Ukrainians don’t appear to have a single ally which is truly sad.
Perhaps someone should suggest that while everyone has the right to choose personal non-violent surrender, those responsible for the Common Good and the welfare of others have no right, for example, to sacrifice the necks of the wives and children to the knife of an assailant.
On May 3, 1983 the (United States) National Conference of Catholic Bishops published the pastoral letter: “The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response.” In this document, the pacifist ideology of unilateral disarmament (Pax Christi) was replaced. Pope John Paul II had placed Cardinal O’Connor in a review position and required the document to be submitted to Rome two or three times for clarity on moral principles (apart from ideology) and actual prudential judgment, e.g., “…Equally important in the age of modern warfare is the recognition that the justifiable [!] reasons for using force have been restricted to instances of self-defense or defense of others under attack” (n. 214).
Also in 1983 the German and French bishops’ conferences published pastoral letters (German: “Out of Justice, Peace;” and French: “Winning the Peace”), printed together by Ignatius Press in 1984 under the editorship of James V. Schall, S.J.). The three pastorals stressed, alternatively, the danger of nuclear holocaust and the place for deterrence, the danger of Soviet weapons superiority along the then Iron Curtain, and the danger of state-sponsored Marxism. But none was pacifist.
In the interests of synodality (!) perhaps these sober assessments by bishops’ conferences should influence papal one-liners tending to criminalize self-defense (somewhere: “all wars are unjust”).
Yet, there is also the point to be made, with needed force and precision, that the lucrative arms trade does tilt toward easy escalation (anywhere) almost inevitably toward global disaster. But it is precisely at such times that one hopes for, and has a right to look forward to, from the perennial Catholic Church, very measured application of moral theology to increasingly complex, concrete circumstances. Is Putin listening? North Korea? Iran?
In the circumstances of Gethsemani, Peter was instructed not to use his sword, but was he told to never own it?
Let me be partially sarcastic – how long will it be until the Pope says something to which the powers-that-be at twitter take offense and cancel him, or whatever it’s called.
FYI – I have NO social media accounts, or whatever they’re called, and have no intention of changing that. If that puts me out of touch, so be it. I confine my ruminations(?) to CWR.
You’re so right. The propaganda media love Bergoglio. In 10 years I have never read so much as a word of criticism of him. Thank you for pointing this out.
I usually read these four Catholic sites: CWR, NCRegister, wherepeteris, and Vatican news. Which ones do you consider to, be liberal? Oh, and I read mercatornet, which is not strictly a religious site, but it is more Catholic than most Catholic sites.
It’s complex! The common adage when caught between seeming offsetting principles. One humorous anecdote was the advertisement of a hapless [former] roommate standing by a pile of belongings being thrown out the apartment window by a visibly impervious woman. A passerby stops and looks at him quizzically, he responds, “It’s complicated!”.
Where do we find justice? For heroic Ukraine, as well as land grubber, cowardly giant Russia [how the entire media, US generals, both political parties view the matter for once all are unanimous]. How simple! Would that it and other issues were so easy to judge. Although Russia is [presumably by natural law itself] a perennial demon. That makes unanimity on Russia easy. How can any just claim for security from Nato [let’s not forget Nato is as a dangerous to Russia as it is to Papua New Guinea, perhaps even Pago Pago].
Now the war cry is, let’s destroy Russian ambition by destroying it’s army in Ukraine. War criminal Vladimir Putin [or is it Rasputin?] has cast his evil spell on the Russian people. Unfortunately, his policy of devastation of Ukraine by bombardment when land forces fail fulfills the prophetic vision of credentialed pundit and armchair world strategist. So the arms continue to pour into Ukraine, perhaps far more lethal in the making, the killing and misery continues on increasing scale, the war cries reaching ‘fever pitch’.
Maybe, perhaps maybe, in this one instance, Pope Francis is correct in calling war, all war bad. After all, it’s against the odds that he’s always wrong.
One wonders just who Pontiff Francis thinks he’s talking to.
Q1 – Is he suggesting that Ukrainians are immoral for fighting against a foreign army that invaded their country?
Q2 – Is he preaching to the choir so that he can say he said something about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has carefully calibrated the statement to be sure it is without any meaning?
Chris, although I agree Pope Francis is generally ambivalent, as he seems here, he did, for example, say to the media earlier in reference to Ukraine, “That when a country is attacked it defends itself, everyone, including civilians”. He added that Russia’s attack was a massacre. His fear of a nuclear confrontation [even a tactical nuclear exchange would be devastating for Europe and the US] has justification with an escalating proxy war. Biden is making wild comments that could cause an apparent paranoid Putin to respond.
Pope Francis has been denouncing this war right from the beginning of this invasion. He is not preaching to the choir but to the world. He is, and has always been, against war.
So, yes, Pope Francis broadly denounces war; yet, the earlier non-position implied that both parties are equally guilty–that self-defense is immoral.
Pope Benedict XV likewise denounced World War I, but at least he had a plan rather than a platitude (“To the Belligerent Peoples,” August 1, 1917).
Summarizing, his propositions for that war were the need to assert moral force over material force, simultaneous disarmament, arbitration in place of conscription, free movement of people and commerce especially at sea, restitution of territories seized during the War (!), and harmony among national aspirations and with the common good (!). Dismissed at the time, parts later reappeared (without attribution) in President Wilson’s Fourteen Points of Peace (Jan. 8, 1918), one of which became the right to national self-determination.
Unlike the AT & T smartphone advertisement, it is complicated.
Upon reflection, I find that my use of the word “platitude” is inaccurate and probably unjust….Without knowing the right word, my meaning goes something like this…
First, the hair-trigger nature of modern technology with its catastrophic potential does raise novelties not in play when Augustine defined the just war.
Second, if it is true (?) that papal advisors are thinking about an exhortation amending just war theory, I would hope such a statement does not displace concrete prudential judgment with undefined “fraternity.”
Third, instead, on the application of moral theology (Catholic Social Teaching) to very convoluted circumstances on steroids, did Catholic academia abdicate its potential contributions the moment it claimed the total autonomy of the Land O’ Lakes Declaration (1967)? Overwhelmed now by administrative hyper-compartmentalization, plus the trendy ideologies of identity politics and intersectionality and STEM—who is left to help an overtaxed Pope Francis answer such modernday conundrums as subsidiarity and solidarity, both together, and the (forgotten) Common Good?
How, too, to clearly articulate both the nature and backstory of global flash points, while also affirming with courage that there is no peace without justice, and no justice without truth?
What is truth? Other than mislabeled “platitudes,” what is the knitty-gritty right word (in addition to the Word) for all of the above? What is our protection from too-simply airbrushing that all war is immoral—even measured self-defense, or deterrence against rogue-state nuclear blackmail?
One can denounce the war in different ways. Pope Francis, who condemns war in his writings, played an active role behind the scenes which only his stance allowed him to do. But since that was to no avail, he took a tougher stance. The correct strategy I thought.
Given Pope Francis’s inability exercise restraint on what he says and does in public, and repeated contradiction of existing, unchangeable Church doctrine, not only on Just War Teaching, but also other issues (such as support for homosexual unions, and his averment that Apostates “remain part of the Church”), I think it would be fair to ask about his mental state and whether he still healthy enough to hold office. Many experts have, after all, questioned the mental health of President Biden and former President Trump for the same or similar reasons.
If he is losing it, then his handlers are guilty of elder abuse by parading him around and allowing him to humiliate himself.
Pope Francis will not say this because of political reasons, but I will: this war along with its sufferings is caused by the unjust desires of only one human being, Vladimir Putin.
Certainly the recent aggression rests with Mr. Putin but what interests set up the scenario in the first place & put the Ukraine in harm’s way? The Western nations haven’t been doing the Ukraine any favors by offering them false hopes.
The Ukrainians don’t appear to have a single ally which is truly sad.
The following article of March 28 by Sandro Magister is the sober and necessary antidote to this article: http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2022/03/28/ukraine-is-fighting-but-for-francis-no-war-is-just/
Perhaps someone should suggest that while everyone has the right to choose personal non-violent surrender, those responsible for the Common Good and the welfare of others have no right, for example, to sacrifice the necks of the wives and children to the knife of an assailant.
On May 3, 1983 the (United States) National Conference of Catholic Bishops published the pastoral letter: “The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response.” In this document, the pacifist ideology of unilateral disarmament (Pax Christi) was replaced. Pope John Paul II had placed Cardinal O’Connor in a review position and required the document to be submitted to Rome two or three times for clarity on moral principles (apart from ideology) and actual prudential judgment, e.g., “…Equally important in the age of modern warfare is the recognition that the justifiable [!] reasons for using force have been restricted to instances of self-defense or defense of others under attack” (n. 214).
Also in 1983 the German and French bishops’ conferences published pastoral letters (German: “Out of Justice, Peace;” and French: “Winning the Peace”), printed together by Ignatius Press in 1984 under the editorship of James V. Schall, S.J.). The three pastorals stressed, alternatively, the danger of nuclear holocaust and the place for deterrence, the danger of Soviet weapons superiority along the then Iron Curtain, and the danger of state-sponsored Marxism. But none was pacifist.
In the interests of synodality (!) perhaps these sober assessments by bishops’ conferences should influence papal one-liners tending to criminalize self-defense (somewhere: “all wars are unjust”).
Yet, there is also the point to be made, with needed force and precision, that the lucrative arms trade does tilt toward easy escalation (anywhere) almost inevitably toward global disaster. But it is precisely at such times that one hopes for, and has a right to look forward to, from the perennial Catholic Church, very measured application of moral theology to increasingly complex, concrete circumstances. Is Putin listening? North Korea? Iran?
In the circumstances of Gethsemani, Peter was instructed not to use his sword, but was he told to never own it?
Agreed
If only more Pto-Life Christians , Catholic Christians, gather in Earnest with Discernment?
Was not evangelism of Billy Graham , Johnathan Edwards, Saint Paul, put to shame and guilt?
Wether in 1949? Or 1743? There was need!
When a man, a woman, can stay in need of redemption but not a distinguishing mark of wanting treat change
“PICK UP YOUR MAT AND WALK”, “YOUR SINS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN”. “Now, Go and SIN no more”
Words of such force and magnitude.
What is the difference in your life? What is the difference in my life?
Let me be partially sarcastic – how long will it be until the Pope says something to which the powers-that-be at twitter take offense and cancel him, or whatever it’s called.
FYI – I have NO social media accounts, or whatever they’re called, and have no intention of changing that. If that puts me out of touch, so be it. I confine my ruminations(?) to CWR.
You’re so right. The propaganda media love Bergoglio. In 10 years I have never read so much as a word of criticism of him. Thank you for pointing this out.
Obviously you do not read widely. Sandro Magister and some rad trad anti-Pope Francis sites seem to be your sources.
As usual, your ignorance and malice are on full display. I explicitly referred to the liberal propaganda media of which you are a feckless myrmidon.
I usually read these four Catholic sites: CWR, NCRegister, wherepeteris, and Vatican news. Which ones do you consider to, be liberal? Oh, and I read mercatornet, which is not strictly a religious site, but it is more Catholic than most Catholic sites.
It’s complex! The common adage when caught between seeming offsetting principles. One humorous anecdote was the advertisement of a hapless [former] roommate standing by a pile of belongings being thrown out the apartment window by a visibly impervious woman. A passerby stops and looks at him quizzically, he responds, “It’s complicated!”.
Where do we find justice? For heroic Ukraine, as well as land grubber, cowardly giant Russia [how the entire media, US generals, both political parties view the matter for once all are unanimous]. How simple! Would that it and other issues were so easy to judge. Although Russia is [presumably by natural law itself] a perennial demon. That makes unanimity on Russia easy. How can any just claim for security from Nato [let’s not forget Nato is as a dangerous to Russia as it is to Papua New Guinea, perhaps even Pago Pago].
Now the war cry is, let’s destroy Russian ambition by destroying it’s army in Ukraine. War criminal Vladimir Putin [or is it Rasputin?] has cast his evil spell on the Russian people. Unfortunately, his policy of devastation of Ukraine by bombardment when land forces fail fulfills the prophetic vision of credentialed pundit and armchair world strategist. So the arms continue to pour into Ukraine, perhaps far more lethal in the making, the killing and misery continues on increasing scale, the war cries reaching ‘fever pitch’.
Maybe, perhaps maybe, in this one instance, Pope Francis is correct in calling war, all war bad. After all, it’s against the odds that he’s always wrong.
One wonders just who Pontiff Francis thinks he’s talking to.
Q1 – Is he suggesting that Ukrainians are immoral for fighting against a foreign army that invaded their country?
Q2 – Is he preaching to the choir so that he can say he said something about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has carefully calibrated the statement to be sure it is without any meaning?
Chris, although I agree Pope Francis is generally ambivalent, as he seems here, he did, for example, say to the media earlier in reference to Ukraine, “That when a country is attacked it defends itself, everyone, including civilians”. He added that Russia’s attack was a massacre. His fear of a nuclear confrontation [even a tactical nuclear exchange would be devastating for Europe and the US] has justification with an escalating proxy war. Biden is making wild comments that could cause an apparent paranoid Putin to respond.
Pope Francis has been denouncing this war right from the beginning of this invasion. He is not preaching to the choir but to the world. He is, and has always been, against war.
Malware alert! Yes and no…
Pope Francis first denounced only the “conflict”, which is different from later publicly recognizing this “invasion” (your word) as an act of “war” (your word). His earlier comments were received by many as meaning “neutrality” in the face of overt aggression (https://www.wsj.com/articles/pope-francis-laments-war-in-ukraine-without-taking-sides-11648226928).
So, yes, Pope Francis broadly denounces war; yet, the earlier non-position implied that both parties are equally guilty–that self-defense is immoral.
Pope Benedict XV likewise denounced World War I, but at least he had a plan rather than a platitude (“To the Belligerent Peoples,” August 1, 1917).
Summarizing, his propositions for that war were the need to assert moral force over material force, simultaneous disarmament, arbitration in place of conscription, free movement of people and commerce especially at sea, restitution of territories seized during the War (!), and harmony among national aspirations and with the common good (!). Dismissed at the time, parts later reappeared (without attribution) in President Wilson’s Fourteen Points of Peace (Jan. 8, 1918), one of which became the right to national self-determination.
Unlike the AT & T smartphone advertisement, it is complicated.
Upon reflection, I find that my use of the word “platitude” is inaccurate and probably unjust….Without knowing the right word, my meaning goes something like this…
First, the hair-trigger nature of modern technology with its catastrophic potential does raise novelties not in play when Augustine defined the just war.
Second, if it is true (?) that papal advisors are thinking about an exhortation amending just war theory, I would hope such a statement does not displace concrete prudential judgment with undefined “fraternity.”
Third, instead, on the application of moral theology (Catholic Social Teaching) to very convoluted circumstances on steroids, did Catholic academia abdicate its potential contributions the moment it claimed the total autonomy of the Land O’ Lakes Declaration (1967)? Overwhelmed now by administrative hyper-compartmentalization, plus the trendy ideologies of identity politics and intersectionality and STEM—who is left to help an overtaxed Pope Francis answer such modernday conundrums as subsidiarity and solidarity, both together, and the (forgotten) Common Good?
How, too, to clearly articulate both the nature and backstory of global flash points, while also affirming with courage that there is no peace without justice, and no justice without truth?
What is truth? Other than mislabeled “platitudes,” what is the knitty-gritty right word (in addition to the Word) for all of the above? What is our protection from too-simply airbrushing that all war is immoral—even measured self-defense, or deterrence against rogue-state nuclear blackmail?
One can denounce the war in different ways. Pope Francis, who condemns war in his writings, played an active role behind the scenes which only his stance allowed him to do. But since that was to no avail, he took a tougher stance. The correct strategy I thought.
Given Pope Francis’s inability exercise restraint on what he says and does in public, and repeated contradiction of existing, unchangeable Church doctrine, not only on Just War Teaching, but also other issues (such as support for homosexual unions, and his averment that Apostates “remain part of the Church”), I think it would be fair to ask about his mental state and whether he still healthy enough to hold office. Many experts have, after all, questioned the mental health of President Biden and former President Trump for the same or similar reasons.
If he is losing it, then his handlers are guilty of elder abuse by parading him around and allowing him to humiliate himself.