Priest discredits just war theory - World - Eliseo Mercado - Brief Article

National Catholic Reporter, Nov 9, 2001 by Gill Donovan

PHILIPPINES: The "just war" theory arose out of medieval thinking, and no pope in the post-Vatican II era will openly affirm it, says a priest involved in Christian-Muslim dialogue in the Philippines.

"Greater appreciation of the Christian message of active nonviolence is not compatible with any understanding of war" as justifiable, Oblate Fr. Eliseo Mercado said Oct. 22. Mercado, president of Notre Dame University in Manila, was speaking from Cotabato City.

The priest insisted that the "just war" theory advocated by some supporters of the U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan is a medieval theological construct that was abandoned after the 19th century and is no longer legitimate.

Modern warfare, he explained, which uses weapons of mass destruction such as bombs and nuclear weapons, negates "the principle of proportionality." That principle says that the human and other costs of a war must be commensurate with the values at stake and the evil that one is trying to overcome.

Mercado, who studied Islam in the Middle East, heads the joint committee monitoring the cease-fire between the Philippines government and Islamic rebels on Mindanao, the main southern Philippine island, who want a separate Islamic state in the Philippines.

Briefs, gathered from news services, correspondents and staff, are compiled and edited by Gill Donovan.