Abstract
This Article will argue that the Church’s actual application of just war doctrine has indeed contravened its broader, otherwise extremely robust ethic of life. This Article makes this argument by proceeding in three parts. Part I introduces the Church’s doctrine on life, as expressed most explicitly in its Canon Law on Sanctions and its Catechism on the Fifth Commandment (“Thou shalt not kill”). Part II explores three specific area in which the Church’s application of just war doctrine clashes with principles located in its broader life ethic. Finally, Part III discusses the implications of these inconsistencies for the Church’s future development of its just war doctrine and its broader life ethic, with an eye toward how to harmonize the two. It recognizes that the Church is all but certain to continue adhering broadly to its positions on certain issues like abortion. Nevertheless, there remain ways for these positions and applications of just war theory to converge. Doing so, the Church can better legitimize its seemingly over-formalistic principles.
Recommended Citation
Lim, Marvin
(2014)
"Just War and the Roman Catholic Life Ethic,"
Florida Journal of International Law: Vol. 26:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/fjil/vol26/iss1/4