As a Catholic, What do you think about Hiroshima?

[John_of_Patmos]

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2314: “Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation. A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes.”

 

[John_of_Patmos]

MariaGoretti88 --whatwould you suggest as to how and when the United States would end the war??? What if your Dad was in the South Pacific?? What if a brother was on Guadacanal?? What if a friend was a POW of the Japanese and you learned after the end of the war the HORRIBLE treatment the Japanese gave their POW’S. It’s so easy to judge President Truman’s decision nearly 80 years later.
I’m old enough to remember the War – I remember Pearl Harbor very well – the bombing ended the war – Thank God!!!

My Great Grandfather was in Guadalcanal…
The Japanese blew up his ship, and he jumped of the bridge of the ship, breaking both shoulders, and hung onto debris for hours until he was picked up…
I am still, absolutely, 100% AGAINST the bombing!
The CCC clearly states that this kind of violence is absolutely unacceptable.
Many ex Soldiers went back to Japan to spread the Gospel, even after what happened.
To Forgive is to be like Jesus.

 

[John_of_Patmos]

Ends don’t justify means.

Exactly.

 

[rfournier103]

When I was a freshman college student (majoring in Criminal Justice) I did a 9 page term paper for my U.S. History & Government class on General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur was tasked with planning the invasion of the Japanese home islands, and he estimated he would need 1 million men for the invasion.

If memory serves, the Japanese were given notice to surrender BEFORE the first bomb was dropped, and were CERTAINLY asked once more to surrender AFTER the initial attack.

Many have said here in this thread that despite the horrifying devastation of the bombs, they definitely saved lives. As a patriotic American, I am all for that. I am sure that many Japanese lives were saved as well. I read in a National Geographic Magazine a few years ago that the War Department had so many Purple Hearts made (for those who don’t know… a medal given to American soldiers for being wounded or killed in combat) in preparation for the invasion of Japan, that they were not all used up until 2000! That’s a lot of carnage.

In conclusion, I do think those attacks were a necessary “evil,” and a far better alternative than any other option. They had several chances to surrender, but chose not to take it. The Japanese ALSO had the option not to start the war.

 

[Matilda_Bennett]

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