What is the church's position on drone warfare?

[catholicperson12]

I am going to be a freshman in college this fall. I want to do rotc and become a drone pilot. The air force is offering a lot of incentives to become a drone pilot. If I take this job, I will be intending to kill members of the Islamic State, but innocent civilians such as women and children WILL die in the process.

What would God say about this? What does the Pope think? What is the Catholic Church’s stance?

 

[SuperLuigi]

catholic.com/documents/just-war-doctrine

I hope this helps!

Praying for you

 

[JD1789]

I am going to be a freshman in college this fall. I want to do rotc and become a drone pilot. The air force is offering a lot of incentives to become a drone pilot. If I take this job, I will be intending to kill members of the Islamic State, but innocent civilians such as women and children WILL die in the process.

What would God say about this? What does the Pope think? What is the Catholic Church’s stance?

You may also want to consider the psychological toll it will take on you as well. Drone pilots watch every kill they make while those in actual planes often do not. You also go home every night after flying the drone and may have a difficult time separating your work like and home life. I spent one year in ROTC before leaving to enter seminary. During that time I wrestled with a lot of moral issues surrounding my possible role and who I would be taking commands from. If you’d like, I can share with you some of my experiences. Good luck! The ROTC route is generally a fantastic way to go.

 

[edwest2]

I am going to be a freshman in college this fall. I want to do rotc and become a drone pilot. The air force is offering a lot of incentives to become a drone pilot. If I take this job, I will be intending to kill members of the Islamic State, but innocent civilians such as women and children WILL die in the process.

What would God say about this? What does the Pope think? What is the Catholic Church’s stance?

Every fighter-bomber pilot knows this. Every bomber pilot knows this. And every cruise missile launch control officer knows this. A lot of our enemies in the Middle East dress like the civilians. It will be up to you to decide.

You will be on a live video feed with a partner. You will be trained in threat assessment. Before a target of opportunity strike, you will have to call it in to get the go-ahead, or you will be directed to a target area on a specific mission without 100% certainty as to what to expect.

Pray.

Ed