Missionaries of the Sacred Heart

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the United States Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter, The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response [CP]. It was issued on May 3, 1983. During this era the former Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in a nuclear weapons superiority race. Both nations posed an ominous presence and the threat of possible use of arms that have the power to bring an end to human history. The Catholic conscience became more keenly aware of and more poignantly disturbed by such realities. Pope John Paul II warned,

Throughout its history humanity has been confronted with war, but since 1945, the nature of warfare has changed so profoundly that the future of the human race of generations yet unborn is imperiled. . . For the first time it is possible to cause damage on such a catastrophic scale as to wipe out a larger part of civilization and to endanger its very survival. The large-scale use of such weapons could trigger major and irreversible ecological and genetic changes whose limits cannot be predicted. (Pope John Paul II, 1982)

As moral leaders and citizens of a superpower nation that has the capacity to make real the pope’s warning, the United States’ Catholic Bishops formulated the pastoral letter which was an attempt to provide “direction and guidance for the formation of one’s conscience.”[1]

In this letter, the bishops say “no” to nuclear war, first use policy, counter population warfare and they express skepticism about the possibility of a “limited” nuclear conflict. Deterrence is accepted conditionally in principle and practice, but it is not to be the final means for peace. Deterrence is acceptable as a measure to prevent the use of nuclear weapons and as a means towards progressive disarmament. The bishops also accept the balance of power, i.e. the principle of “sufficiency” but do not accept the notion of nuclear superiority. Deterrence is morally unacceptable if it includes the intent to kill innocent persons.

The bishops further appeal for an end to the production and deployment of nuclear weapons and call for a bilateral disarmament. They warn that the arms race and the production of arms have social justice implications. The cost alone ignores “the plight of scores of countries and millions of people simply trying to survive,” while living in ‘absolute poverty.” (CP, 259, 261)

Although the bishops emphasize the validity of the Just War Theory [JWT], and affirm the dignity of those in military service, they raise a serious question as to whether its criteria can ever again be validated in a nuclear conflict. The bishops also stress the value of non-violence and laud those who purse its course. Both the JWT and non-violence traditions offer the common belief that the use of force is wrong as a means for settling disputes. Those who participate in military service are considered necessary agents of security and peace but are, nevertheless, warned that in conscience they are bound to the moral order. By the same token, the bishops declare that “no state may demand blind obedience.” (CP, 232) Love and loyalty for one’s country requires a person to examine “carefully and regularly its [the country’s] role in world affairs, asking that it live up to its fullest potential as an agent of peace with justice for all persons.” (CP, 327) The Bishops fundamentally attest that peacemaking is a challenging moment for the Christian conscience, especially in today’s world. They assert that all Christians must pursue peace, not as an option, but as a “requirement of faith” proclaimed by Jesus Christ. (CP, 333)

With the end of the Cold War we have been gratefully experiencing an era of non-proliferation among the superpowers. Pope Benedict XVI, however, makes a plea to those in authority, “to resume with greater determination negotiations for progressive and mutually agreed dismantling of existing nuclear weapons.” He also cautions, “Humanity today is unfortunately experiencing great division and sharp conflicts which cast dark shadows on its future.”[2] With this in mind, the Catholic conscience today is pierced once again amid the present realities including the “danger of an increase in the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons.”[3] News accounts continue to purport that N. Korea, Pakistan and Iran are developing nuclear power and nuclear weapons. Fear also surfaces with talks on military intervention to put an end to nuclear production in these nations. The Challenge of Peace, therefore, is as relevant for us today as it was in 1983. It is a perpetual reminder of the call of Jesus to conversion of heart for the reign of God. The Catholic Bishops invite all Christians to prayer and solidarity for “disarmament of the human heart and conversion of the human spirit to God, who alone can give authentic peace.” (CP, 284) Indeed, world peace is possible when it finds its true home, i.e. within the heart of each person.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere!

Brother Warren Perrotto, MSC

July 23, 2008

[1]Robert M. Friday, Nuclear War, The Bishops and Personal Conscience, Living Light 20 (October, 1983, No. 1), p. 10.

[2] Pope Benedict XVI, The Human Family, A Community of Peace. Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, January 1, 2008, #14

[3] Ibid.