If the correct conditions are present, then a war can be justified. THE CORRECT CONDITIONS ARE PRESENT war is imminent

 

Just War Theory

For many centuries, the Church’s teaching on peace and war has been shaped by the just war theory. Just War Theory is the philosophical doctrine which states that war should be avoided at all costs, but if the correct conditions are present, then a war can be justified. The two pioneers of this theory were Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Saint Augustine wrote that, “The commandment forbidding killing was not broken by those who have waged wars on the authority of God.” Saint Thomas went further by actually laying out three conditions of a just war. He stated that a war needed to be fought for a just case, waged by a proper authority, and done with the right intentions (For more information on this, see the Summa Theologica II-II, Q. 40). In summary of Just War Theory, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

“At one and the same time:

The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;

All other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;

There must be serious prospects of success;

The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.”

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