Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

12 p.

Publication Date

Winter 2014

Publisher

Philosophy Documentation Center

Source Publication

Journal of Catholic Social Thought

Source ISSN

1548-0712

Original Item ID

doi: 10.5840/jcathsoc201411123

Abstract

This essay starts from a presupposition that there is need for rethinking the theological framework within which the Catholic Church has articulated its understanding of the principles and the application of the theory of "just war" in the social teaching it has proposed since the conclusion of World War II. While it may also be the case that the articulation of just war principles within other Christian theological traditions needs a similar re-framing, my primary concern is with the place it has occupied within Catholic moral and social teaching for the last sixty years. I will first provide a brief overview of the main considerations why such rethinking seems needed, but the main thrust of my argument is to outline the direction that such rethinking could take. I will also propose that an important outcome of such rethinking would be to provide a clear focus on the establishment of peace as the proper finality of a theologically informed just war theory.

Comments

Accepted version. Journal of Catholic Social Thought, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Winter 2014): 229-240. DOI. © 2014 Philosophy Documentation Center. Used with permission.

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