May soldiers who fight in unjust wars or people who execute the innocent rightly be called murderers, and those who willingly enter these circumstance

[FrostArcana]

This is what I thought. This would apply to participants? Of course if someone seriously looked into it and determined it was just even if it wasn’t, by a sincere mistaken conscience that’s different, not sure though if they don’t look, refuse to look, etc

 

[pnewton]

The answer to the title question is “yes”, but only because of the word “may” coupled with all the assumed components of the question. Sure, it is a possibility that this could be the case.

However, that which is posited in the post, is mostly “no”. None of the circumstances given are by necessity immoral. In fact, one of them is a logic impossibility. One cannot know innocent people will be killed without actually know who the are.

http://w2.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a5.htm

Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility.

The Church has always honored those who are willing to risk their own lives to safeguard others. I would be quite slow to condemn them for something the Church has praised over personal opinions of specific circumstances.

 

[OddBird]

if Christian Roman soldiers were compelled to do something gravely immoral this was of course a serious dilemma.

As a well-loved saint around here, saint Maurice, is said to have told emperor Maximian when he and the Theban legion refused to slaughter a whole village :

We are your soldiers, o emperor, but first and foremost servants of God. We owe you military obedience, but we owe him innocence. We would rather die innocent than live on guilty.

 

[Irishmom2]

I didn’t say you were arguing. “Arguing a point” is another way of saying debating.

 

[RolandThompsonGunner]

I think you need to provide a more concrete example.

Certainly if the situation was, “hey guys, enlist today! We’re going to go over to Country X and murder civilians!” then yeah, people would be culpable for participating in that.

The real world is rarely that clear cut, though.