Just War Theory and Melkite Patriarch Gregory III: U.S. Attack in Syria a "Criminal Act"

[OurLadyPray4US]

Folks, it occurred to me that these words by the Eastern Catholic (Melkite) Patriarch Gregory III Laham are a very, very serious indictment of our proposed military strikes in Syria, but how do the good Patriarch’s words line up with the Catholic Church’s Magisterium, and Just War Theory?

If our proposed strike on Syria indeed qualifies as a “criminal act” rather than as a “just war”, per the Magisterium and according to the CC’s “just war theory”, then there’s no room for dissent, and all Catholics have a moral duty to oppose such strike.

In other words, is this a case for individual discernment, where Catholics can in good faith disagree with Patriarch Gregory III and not commit a sin, or is his pronouncement so clearly and unequivocally supported by the Magisterium, and the Just War Theory of the Catholic Church, that we Catholics are all bound to agree with him for else we would be committing a grave sin - the sin of supporting an unjust war?

Edit: also the Patriarch’s words that “Every day - he explains - Islamic extremists from all over the world are pouring into Syria with the sole intent to kill and not one country has done anything to stop them, even the U.S. has decided to send in more weapons.” make me wonder - have we already committed a grave sin, namely the sin of arming these foreign Islamic extremists who are pouring into Syria and waging an unjust war on the Syrian people and on the Syrian Christians?

 

[OurLadyPray4US]

from asianews.it/news-en/Gregory-III:-Democracy-is-built-with-peace.-U.S.-attack-is-a-criminal-act-28855.html :

08/28/2013 11:40
SYRIA - LEBANON
Gregory III: Democracy is built with peace. U.S. attack is a criminal act
The Catholic Patriarch of Antioch calls on Western countries to listen to the Pope’s appeal. Armed action will destroy any possibility of future dialogue and reconciliation. The Christians will be ghettoized. Without them, there can be no moderate Islam. The disappearance of Christians is a threat for the West and the Arab world.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - “We must listen to the Pope’s appeal for peace in Syria. If western countries want to create true democracy then they must build it on reconciliation, through dialogue between Christians and Muslims, not with weapons. This attacked being planned by the United States is a criminal act, which will only reap more victims, in addition to the tens of thousands of these two years of war. This will destroy the Arab world’s trust in the West”, says Gregory III Laham, Patriarch of Antioch of the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem of the Melkites. His appeal entrusted to AsiaNews comes just a few hours after rumors of an imminent United States attack against Damascus. The intervention is supported by other countries: France, Great Britain, Turkey and the Arab League. The religious leader has sent out Pope Francis’ August 25 appeal to all of Syria’s parishes.

“The voice of Christians - said the Patriarch - is that of the Holy Father. At this time we must be pragmatic. Syria needs stability and an armed attack against the government really has no sense at all”.

 

[Jozefo]

…have we already committed a grave sin, namely the sin of arming these foreign Islamic extremists who are pouring into Syria and waging an unjust war on the Syrian people and on the Syrian Christians?

Not in my opinion. Only the people actually doing that have sinned.

 

[St_Francis]

I believe that the proposed strike would be against the Just War theory, international law, the Geneva Conventions, the US Consitution, and federal law.

If we did this, we would be attacking a sovereign nation which has neither attacked us or any under our protection nor requested our help.

As to arming revels against another nation, imo that too is morally evil and should never have been done by our government.

 

[OurLadyPray4US]

I wonder about a hypothetical situation of a foreign country deciding to bomb the White House, in order to effect regime change in the USA, given that the current administration stands for abortion and even tries to force religious employers to pay for abortive drugs, whereas in case of regime change we might end up with a different administration that restricts abortions and will not try to force religious employers to pay for abortions. I wonder, could a foreign country ever justify, under the Just War Theory, bombing the USA’s government offices and effecting regime change in the USA - and is there a parallel with what the USA and EU (Britain, France) are trying to do in Syria.

Let’s imagine Malta (sorry folks from Malta, it’s just a thought experiment ), a country where abortion is illegal, deciding to bomb the White House, and forcing a regime change in the USA. Would that stand under the Just War Theory?