Is it a Sin to think the Iraq war is not Immoral?

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redmars3000

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I will refrain from giving the poster’s name in case it is not allowed, but a member on the forum told me:

“You are pro-Iraq and the church has said it was immoral. And this is why I said that you do not follow church teaching!” (corrected for spelling)

So, is this true? I am not Catholic yet, but is this person right?

Is supporting the war in Iraq a sin?
 
Is it a sin to take down a dictator who is gulity of such hanus crimes beyond imaginenation and a threat to world peace? Or what about protecting the people in America? I sure don’t think thats a sin.
 
No, it is not necessarily a sin.

Rejecting Church teaching on a matter of faith and morals would be a sin. The Church teaches that some wars can be just, and that torture, and the targeting of innocent non-combatants in war is immoral. Rejecting such a teaching would be a sin.

The judgment as to whether or not a particular war is just or unjust is a decision of the prudential order, not a teaching. In other words, it involves evaluating particulars of circumstance and weighing the credibility of various sources of information. Such decisions are not teachings. Catholics are free to judge that a particular war is just or is unjust.
 
If your church thinks it’s immoral, then they shouldn’t support the war, and shouldn’t support the troops.

If you do, then as long as you’re not expressing it in a way that breaks God’s laws in any way, then feel free to support it.
 
redmars3000 said:
I will refrain from giving the poster’s name in case it is not allowed, but a member on the forum told me:

“You are pro-Iraq and the church has said it was immoral. And this is why I said that you do not follow church teaching!” (corrected for spelling)

So, is this true? I am not Catholic yet, but is this person right?

Is supporting the war in Iraq a sin?
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I don’t think the Church has said in any authoritative way that the war was immoral. I think that the war violated the “last resort” criterion for just war, and perhaps some other criteria as well, and I think it was very ill-advised. If you sincerely think that war was the last resort and that the war genuinely met the traditional criteria, I think you are wrong but I wouldn’t say you are sinning.

Edwin
 
Contarini said:
I don’t think the Church has said in any authoritative way that the war was immoral. I think that the war violated the “last resort” criterion for just war, and perhaps some other criteria as well, and I think it was very ill-advised. If you sincerely think that war was the last resort and that the war genuinely met the traditional criteria, I think you are wrong but I wouldn’t say you are sinning.

Edwin
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Thank you. Exactly correct. Many in the Church, including our Holy Father and his predecessor, have expressed grave reservations regarding the U.S. current conflict in Iraq. These pronouncements should be taken under very serious consideration by faithful Catholics. Nevertheless, no definitive teaching has been authoritatively set down regarding this. Therefore, a contrary opinion, honestly, intelligently, and humbly arrived at, couldn’t be considered a sin.
 
redmars3000 said:
I will refrain from giving the poster’s name in case it is not allowed, but a member on the forum told me:

“You are pro-Iraq and the church has said it was immoral. And this is why I said that you do not follow church teaching!” (corrected for spelling)

So, is this true? I am not Catholic yet, but is this person right?

Is supporting the war in Iraq a sin?
Click to expand...
Support the troops, not the war in my opinion.
 
Support the troops, not the war?

If the war is immoral (Note I said “if”) then the soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen prosecuting the war are fighting (killing and destroying property) in an immoral cause. How can you be opposed to a course of action, yet support those who are pursuing that course of action?

It is akin to saying “I’m opposed to the death penalty, but I support the executioners.” It makes no sense.

If (and again I say “If”) the war is immoral then you cannot morally support those who are prosecuting the war.

Now I don’t believe that the war is immoral, so I do support the Troops. I have read what JPII and BXVI have had to say on the subject and respect both of them very much and understand that their perspective, having seen what WWII did to their respective countries, is different from mine. But Saddam was not going to go away by himself and he was guilty of crimes that were not far removed in scale from those of Hitler and Stalin. All diplomatic and economic efforts (12 years of sanctions, embargos, inspections, and fly overs) had failed and we had the military capability to end his reign of terror. This seems to me to fit the just war doctrine. That said I do pray for a rapid resolution to the conflict so the killing can stop and the refugees and our troops can return home.
 
I don’t think it is a sin. But then I don’t think it is a sin to think the war is immoral. It is a purely a difference of opinion and what America is all about.
 
brockmac said:
Support the troops, not the war?

If the war is immoral (Note I said “if”) then the soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen prosecuting the war are fighting (killing and destroying property) in an immoral cause. How can you be opposed to a course of action, yet support those who are pursuing that course of action?

It is akin to saying “I’m opposed to the death penalty, but I support the executioners.” It makes no sense.

If (and again I say “If”) the war is immoral then you cannot morally support those who are prosecuting the war.

Now I don’t believe that the war is immoral, so I do support the Troops. I have read what JPII and BXVI have had to say on the subject and respect both of them very much and understand that their perspective, having seen what WWII did to their respective countries, is different from mine. But Saddam was not going to go away by himself and he was guilty of crimes that were not far removed in scale from those of Hitler and Stalin. All diplomatic and economic efforts (12 years of sanctions, embargos, inspections, and fly overs) had failed and we had the military capability to end his reign of terror. This seems to me to fit the just war doctrine. That said I do pray for a rapid resolution to the conflict so the killing can stop and the refugees and our troops can return home.
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What about “love the sinner, hate the sin”? Loving the sinner doesnt mean that you condone all of their actions.

Listen, from what I know the troops are doing their jobs for their families and their countries. They do not make the big administrative decisions, that is left to the White House, or whoever does the big decision making in the US. The troops need to hope and pray that what they are doing everyday is right, otherwise they need to go back home.

Would you condemn a low ranking employee of a grocery store, if that store supports planned parenthood? Of course not! If the individual believes that working there is contributing to the unethical activities of the business, he/she should consider leaving.

My :twocents:
 
…But Saddam was not going to go away by himself and he was guilty of crimes that were not far removed in scale from those of Hitler and Stalin. All diplomatic and economic efforts (12 years of sanctions, embargos, inspections, and fly overs) had failed and we had the military capability to end his reign of terror. This seems to me to fit the just war doctrine. That said I do pray for a rapid resolution to the conflict so the killing can stop and the refugees and our troops can return home.
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Btw Brockmac, Australia joined the war in Iraq because it was convinced by the US government that was “weapons of mass destruction” being produced or held there. I agree that is a good enough reason to step in. But the information provided was either a lie or very mistaken.

I’ll always remember looking at Colin Powell on tv a few years ago explaining this stuff to the American people and the world… :(.
That said I do pray for a rapid resolution to the conflict so the killing can stop and the refugees and our troops can return home.
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Best thing said in this thread 👍
 
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