Church in the World

Novak puts a Catholic case for war

Rome

A justification for war on Iraq according to just war principles was made in Rome on Monday by Michael Novak, the American Catholic theologian and scholar known for his defence of capitalism. Novak, who holds a chair in Religion and Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, had been invited by the American Ambassador to the Holy See, James Nicholson, to frame Washington?s case for an attack in terms of just war doctrine. During the two days before the lecture, Novak met Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Vatican?s leading diplomat, and officials from the Vatican?s Council for Justice and Peace.

The visit was controversial even before he had arrived, reports Peggy Polk from Rome. A group of 60 religious superiors and lay people in the United States had earlier written to protest against Novak?s presence, describing him as ?a dissident theologian? whose support for a military strike against Iraq contradicted clear church statements that preventive war was incompatible with just war theory. The letter, which was sent to Ambassador Nicholson by the Justice and Peace Office of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, also complained that Novak?s government role ? he lectures occasionally on behalf of the US State Department ? violated the constitutional separation of Church and State.

But in preliminary remarks he made in Rome to some 200 Vatican officials, professors from church universities and diplomats at the Centre for American Studies, Novak said he was representing neither the American Embassy nor the Catholic Church in the United States but solely his own views ?as a scholar and a concerned American?. He also said military action was justified under traditional principles of self-defence in Catholic just war theory rather than under a new concept of preventive war. ?A limited and carefully conducted war to bring about a regime change in Iraq is, as a last resort, morally obligatory?, he told the symposium on Monday. (Novak?s address is published on p.4.)

While in Italy, Novak also made his case to a wider audience, on a nationally televised talk show and in a lengthy interview on Vatican Radio. He told the One-O-Five-Live show that ?the best thing is complete agreement? in the world about an attack on Iraq. But, he said, ?the moral principle stands whether there is complete international agreement or not?.

Hours before Novak?s speech to diplomats, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray had left for Baghdad with a message for Saddam Hussein from Pope John Paul II urging him to comply with the weapons inspections. Speaking warmly of the 80-year-old cardinal, who is an experienced papal troubleshooter, Novak described him as ?experienced, gentle and wise? and said he was sure that many Americans ?are praying that he will convince Saddam Hussein to disarm, and to prove that he has disarmed, or to accept exile?.

In his remarks to journalists Novak had still warmer words for the Pope, who he said should take a large share of the credit for helping to convince President Bush to take his case against Iraq to the United Nations Security Council. ?The United States is acting within the context of international law. To my mind, that saves the situation?, he told the audience, adding that he agreed with the Pope that war was a defeat for humanity. But he added that he would thank John Paul for ?always being careful to say? that war is acceptable in self-defence and as a last resort.

However, Novak was angered by a recent article in the respected Jesuit review Civilt? Cattolica, whose views are approved by the Secretariat of State before publication. The article blamed the Iraq crisis on American oil interests, which it said were motivating the desire for an assault on Saddam Hussein. But America buys only six per cent of its petroleum from Iraq and only 23 per cent from the Middle East, Novak pointed out, before going on to ask why the article did not mention the oil interests of France, Italy, Russia and China. The article had expressed a ?partisan view? unworthy of a universal Church, Novak said, adding ?It seems to be done from a European point of view, and it seems to represent the most anti-American strain of European thought.?

The weapons of mass destruction that Saddam was thought to possess are a threat not only to the region but, if they fall into the hands of terrorist cells, to the entire world, Novak said. ?I don?t think there is anybody who wants to go to war. There are those who are trusting in containment. It?s a reasonable position, which I believe to be wrong?, he said. ?It?s foolhardy.? |snip!|Where the Church is flourishing. The latest Vatican yearbook says the world?s Catholics totalled 1.06 billion in 2001, the last year of counting. The Annuario Pontificio, issued as always in February, says Latin America has the largest number, but the greatest increase was in Africa with 148 per cent growth between 1978 and 2001.

Half of the 405,000 priests worldwide are diocesan, the yearbook says, while religious women numbered 800,000. Candidates for the priesthood grew from 110,583 in 2000 to 112,244 in 2001. Baptisms in Asia and North America had risen, but not those in Europe and Oceania.

The Holy See is in diplomatic relations with 175 states, East Timor and Qatar having been added in 2002.