What are the strict criteria for a 'Just War' according to the Catholic Church?
The Church's Just War doctrine (articulated by St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and CCC 2309) insists that war is a grave evil that must only be undertaken as a last resort for legitimate self-defense. Four rigorous conditions must be met simultaneously: 1) The damage inflicted by the aggressor must be lasting, grave, and certain; 2) All other means of ending it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; 3) There must be serious prospects of success; and 4) The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated (proportionality). Non-combatants and prisoners must be respected.
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2307-2317
- Romans 13:4
Awaiting review by the chaplaincy. Written in our own words; the Church's own texts are the authority.