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Pacifism Must Embrace Justice In Its Peacebuilding

Pacifism Must Embrace Justice In Its Peacebuilding

Last updated on: June 17, 2025 at 3:38 am by Henry Karlson

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Pacifism Must Embrace Justice In Its Peacebuilding 2025-06-17T03:38:04-05:00 Henry Karlson

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BastienM: Portrait Of St. Paul VI Who Promoted Christian Pacifism By Telling Us To Say No More War /Wikimedia Commons

One of the things I came to appreciate after I became Catholic was the importance of peace-making, and with it, the way of non-violence and pacifism. Not only did it follow Catholic insistence of the dignity of every person, but it did so in a way that complemented what Christ taught throughout his temporal ministry: Love your neighbor, including your enemy; blessed are the peacemakers; those who live by the sword, shall die by the sword. What Catholic teaching denies is turning pacifism into an absolute – we are to build peace, to counter the cycle of violence, but sometimes, we find ourselves in a situation where a limited defense not only is permissible, but it might be the best option available to us. Such defense must never be done out of hatred or vengeance, but out of a sense of justice, a justice which must always look for the restoration of peace and with that peace, find a way to turn enemies into friends and allies so that the causes of violence can be eliminated. And it is important to see any engagement of violence as a wrong, something to feel sorrow about, especially if it led to someone’s death, because the death of any person is itself an attack on the dignity of the human person (which is why it was traditional for all soldiers to do penance for what they did in war, even if their actions were purely defensive and justifiable).

I now consider myself a pacifist, and my pacifism has been formed from money sources: from Scripture and various pacifistic voices coming from the whole of the Christian tradition (especially as it can be found in the works of many saints), to the way modernity has taken and develop that tradition and brought it to its proper conclusion (as as can be seen in the way Pope after Pope has said “No more war!”). I have also been influenced by Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Thich Nhat Hanh, and in the way they have promoted non-violent resistance to evil. I especially have found Vladimir Solovyov complements what learned from Thich Nhat Hanh which is we must not turn pacifism into an absolute: Hanh, as a Buddhist, understood that any extreme, even the extreme of pacifism, ends up leading us astray, while Vladimir Solovyov explored how such an extreme pacifism, such as found in the works of Leo Tolstoy, would ultimately undermine the greater good which pacifists desire (while accepting the principles of pacifism, and using them to point out how and why the death penalty is completely unacceptable).

It is in this spirit, therefore, I read with great sorrow what is taking place in both Ukraine and in the Middle East. Russia unjustly invaded Ukraine, and the Ukrainians are justified in resisting the Russian invasion with an armed response. To be sure, there is a limit to what that response should be, but that limit should be considered in connection with the kind of existential threat not only Ukrainians find themselves under, but the rest of the world if they fall, they must stop Russia. In the Middle East, we find the call to violence coming from many sides, from Hamas, which unjustly attacked Israel and killed, kidnapped, and raped many innocent Israelis, justifying Israel having a limited response in return, to the way Israel has gone beyond reason and been indiscriminate in its attack on Palestinians in return, we must see that both sides have gone beyond what is just. There should be every effort to deescalate the situation, helping innocents from both sides of the conflict, making sure that we understand the evils being done are not done by all Palestinians or Israelis. There is no justification for anyone to say the other side should be completely wiped out. Similarly, the way Israel now has pre-emptively attacked Iran shows Israel continues the cycle of violence, has acted, once again, unjustly, and has made the world a more dangerous place to live in. Iran, in theory, has a right to defend themselves, so long as they do so with a proportional response, and with a desire to bring a just end to the conflict.

The situation in the world today is dire, and there is the need to find a way to put a stop to the various cycles of violence which, if left unchecked, could lead all the way to the use of nuclear arms, and perhaps the end of the world as we know it. Innocents in Gaza, Israel, and Iran are being killed due to what is being done in their name. Israel’s historical treatment of the Palestinians has been deplorable, as more and more of their land is taken by unlawful settlers, Israel defends the settlers over the Palestinians, while keeping the Palestinians in terrible living conditions, which explains why Palestinians (who are not all Muslims, but many are Christians) have nothing but resentment against Israel. The response of many of the Palestinians, sadly, has also been deplorable; their grievances have turned to hate, and hate has turned into justification for unjustifiable actions against Israel. We can and should be critical of the state of Israel but also of Hamas. Seeing critical remarks against the actions of the local governments must not be confused with bigotry, but those who make such critical remarks must make sure they offer them in a way such bigotry does develop or become supported. Both Anti-Jewish and Anti-Muslim hate is wrong; much of what is done by the state of Israel, or Hamas, or even Iran, is wrong. Jews have criticized the state of Israel, Muslims have criticized Hamas and Iran, and we should listen to and learn from those criticisms to make sure we follow with an honest criticism instead of those made out of anger, by those who slowly fall for some sort of bigotry.

So long as legitimate criticism is confused with bigotry, it will be ignored, and if it is ignored, innocents will suffer, as unjustifiable actions will continue, leading to countless deaths and inconceivable amounts of destruction. Those who survive attacks against their people will likely become bitter and angry, wanting revenge. This is how people become radicalized, and, having learned such actions are not being condemned, will lead them to retaliate in a similar fashion. This is one of the ways the cycle of violence perpetuates itself. The cycle will continue so long as bigotry is allowed to reign supreme, so long as indiscriminate acts of war are allowed, so long as one side or another is protected from all criticism, allowing them to do anything they want. We need to decry the evil when it is done, whether it is done to innocent Muslims or Jews. We need to denounce the attack on humanitarian aid and large populations of Palestinians barely surviving, even as we need to denounce the attacks on Jews around the world, where a person is attacked or killed because they are a Jew. We must denounce attacks on synagogues, even as we must denounce attacks on mosques. It must all be rejected.

Pope Leo XIV is right, therefore, in denouncing the drums of war. He is right in saying we should all be working for peace in the world. But of course, peace without justice is no peace, and so we must not just work for a temporary cessation of hostilities where war is taking place in the word (Ukraine, Israel, Iran, et. al.), but make sure such a cessation of hostilities does not give unjust aggressors all they wanted out of their actions. If those who have done grave evil are not expected to pay back or make reparations, they will be encouraged to once again go to war in the future whenever they want to get more (which is why, for example, Russia should not be allowed to keep any of the land it took in its invasion of Ukraine).

Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword. Those who live by the way of violence will suffer the effects of violence themselves. No one embracing the way of violence should be surprised when those they attack retaliate. They must not use such retaliation as justification for further actions. Peace must be established, and it can only be established in and with justice. We must acknowledge those who have been unjustly hurt during war, working for them and their behalf, from the Palestinians in Gaza who are barely surviving, to the Israelis who lost many loved ones when Hamas orchestrated an attack upon Israel, to Iranians who died at the hands of Israel’s raid of Iran. We must do so, lest we find ourselves accepting unjust generalizations and the prejudices which flow from them, the prejudices which have us justify the unjustifiable, fueling the fire of hate and the violence which comes from it.

It is in this spirit I would like to conclude by saying: I stand with the poor and dispossessed of the world, especially those suffering from the ravages of war. I stand with the Palestinians struggling to make it through another day, even as I stand with those Jews who want a just and lasting peace, not just in Israel, but around the world. I stand with the Iranians who have no one speaking on their behalf, as both their government, and the enemies of their government, take little to no care for them and their welfare. I stand with Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Atheists, and anyone else who seeks for a just and lasting peace, anyone who recognizes that there are people suffering from conflicts not of their own making, and that they should not be treated as mere casualties of war. I stand for peace, a just peace, one which rectifies the problems which lead to war and violence. I stand for a critical examination of the problems before us, recognizing the solutions are not going to be easy, but they will never be had if we support the dehumanization and demonization of innocents who suffer at the hands of everyone around them.

* This Is Part LXVI Of My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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