Preventing Unjust War: A Catholic Argument for Selective Conscientious Objection
Why does humankind continue to be plagued by war? Catholic pacifists blame the just war tradition, which can be invoked to justify any war, and so must be jettisoned. In his book, Preventing Unjust War: A Catholic Argument for Selective Conscientious Objection, Roger Bergman argues that the problem is not the just war tradition but the unjust war tradition. Ambitious rulers start wars that cannot be justified, and yet warriors continue to fight them. The problem is that warriors are believed not to hold any responsibility for judging the justice of the wars they are ordered to fight. Selective conscientious objection, the right and duty to refuse to fight unjust wars, is the solution. With the example of Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine at hand, 果冻传媒 sociologist of religion Fr. Paddy Gilger, SJ, will engage author Roger Bergman in a lively discussion of what the Catholic intellectual heritage can contribute to this perennial problem.