If the just war tradition is indeed a tradition of statecraft, then the proper role of religious leaders and public intellectuals is to do everything possible to clarify the moral issues at stake in a time of war, while recognizing that what we might call the “charism of responsibility” lies elsewhere—with duly constituted public authorities, who are more fully informed about the relevant facts and who must bear the weight of responsible decision-making and governance. It is simply clericalism to suggest that religious leaders and public intellectuals “own” the just war tradition in a singular way.

It was Weigel.

firstthings.com/moral-clarit...

Also, I think Barron’s interpretation is belied by the fact that John Paul II, who approved the Catechism, quite specifically condemned the Iraq War in 2003.

And anyway, a war of aggression is a gross violation of the just-war principles, not a prudential judgment. Surely the Church has a right to speak about that.

All that passage in the Catechism is saying is that political leaders are the ones who make decisions about war and are responsible for applying the just-war criteria. It would be odd if it was meant to imply others cannot evaluate that decision.

Yes, George Weigel made this argument in First Things back in the day.

One problem I have is that “least educated” and “most educated” are not defined, and the graphic doesn’t let us know the views of those (the majority?) somewhere in between.

Boastful Quaker Oats ad, Chicago 1891

Why is the focus of the USA Today article that care packages aren’t getting through and not on the fact that US soldiers don’t have enough food?

U.S. Bishops’ Chairman on Doctrine Issues Clarification on Just War Theory
“When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ.” https://ow.ly/M6ym50YJYvN

“To be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said: ‘He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’

Yeah, that’s the thing, Pope Leo is being more faithful to the just-war doctrine than his critics.

Speaking of which, it’s funny that the only philosopher cited as an example is not “continental” at all in a geographic sense, but from India.

We do have this synodality thing now, though.

True story: During his 1999 visit to St. Louis, Pope John Paul II called for clemency for a particular death row inmate, and the (non-Catholic) governor of Missouri, Mel Carnahan, did it.

You say the pope is soft on crime, and yet Jesus died for you while you were yet a sinner.

So far the top two contenders for Peru’s runoff presidential election are Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of the former dictator, and a member of Opus Dei who says he flagellates himself every day and claims to be “Peru’s Bolsonaro,” who have less than 30% of the vote between them.

a man with a beard is sitting in a chair . ALT: a man with a beard is sitting in a chair .

Very Ukrainian accent:

"Oh Mr Vance, is it hard to negotiate peace?

Is it difficult to come to a deal when both sides have fundamentally irreconcilable positions on key issues?

Does not being able to trust your counterparty make things tricky?

Why do you hate peace, Mr Vance?"

You mean they didn’t settle the peace negotiations in less than a day?

Or if you believed it was actually Jesus speaking to you, that might be heresy, too.

This is pretty funny though.

Jeez.

man morale at the AP is real bad huh

“Code is law,” as they say! /s

Hungary election: EU meddling to topple Viktor Orban, JD Vance says The US vice-president, on a visit to Budapest, accuses Brussels of interference because it ‘hates’ the prime minister

The U.S. vice president campaigning for the Hungarian PM accuses the EU of meddling in Hungary’s elections.

Okay.

www.thetimes.com/article/d9bc...

bsky.app/profile/carl...

Honestly shocking.

Aide: sir you were supposed to choose ONE of the talking points

“Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation,” Hegseth prayed. “Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”

I had missed Hegseth's revolting war-prayer. Quite apart from the erotic attraction to violence, it is pretty fundamental to Christianity that "mercy" is not restricted to those who "deserve" it. Or as Shakespeare put it, "Use every man after his desert, and who should 'scape whipping?"