Editing Just war theory (section)

====Contemporary Catholic doctrine====
The just war doctrine of the [[Catholic Church]] found in the 1992 ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'', in paragraph 2309, lists four strict conditions for "legitimate defense by military force:"<ref>{{cite book|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|edition=2|publisher=Liberia Editrice Vaticana|isbn=1574551108|url=https://archive.org/details/catechismofcatho2000cath|access-date=25 April 2015|year=2000|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Just-War Theory, Catholic Morality, And The Response To International Terrorism.
|url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=4644|access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref>
* The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave and certain.
* All other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective.
* There must be serious prospects of success.
* The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated.

The ''[[Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church]]'' elaborates on the just war doctrine in paragraphs 500 to 501, while citing the [[Charter of the United Nations]]:<ref name="compendio">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html|title=Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church|access-date=10 April 2024}}</ref>

{{quotation|If this responsibility justifies the possession of sufficient means to exercise this right to defense, States still have the obligation to do everything possible "to ensure that the conditions of peace exist, not only within their own territory but throughout the world". It is important to remember that "it is one thing to wage a war of self-defense; it is quite another to seek to impose domination on another nation. The possession of war potential does not justify the use of force for political or military objectives. Nor does the mere fact that war has unfortunately broken out mean that all is fair between the warring parties".

''The Charter of the United Nations ... is based on a generalized prohibition of a recourse to force to resolve disputes between States, with the exception of two cases: legitimate defence and measures taken by the Security Council within the area of its responsibilities for maintaining peace.'' In every case, exercising the right to self-defence must respect "the traditional limits of necessity and proportionality".

''Therefore, engaging in a preventive war without clear proof that an attack is imminent cannot fail to raise serious moral and juridical questions.'' International legitimacy for the use of armed force, on the basis of rigorous assessment and with well-founded motivations, can only be given by the decision of a competent body that identifies specific situations as threats to peace and authorizes an intrusion into the sphere of autonomy usually reserved to a State.||''[[Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church]]''<ref name="compendio"/>}}

Pope [[John Paul II]] in an address to a group of soldiers noted the following:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/the-church-s-just-war-theory-part-1.html|title=The Church's Just War Theory|last=Saunders|first=William|website=Catholic Education Resource Center|date=19 October 2000 |language=en-US|access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref> {{Blockquote|Peace, as taught by Sacred Scripture and the experience of men itself, is more than just the absence of war. And the Christian is aware that on earth a human society that is completely and always peaceful is, unfortunately, an utopia and that the ideologies which present it as easily attainable only nourish vain hopes. The cause of peace will not go forward by denying the possibility and the obligation to defend it.}}