My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are thirteen (13) "In Brief" articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church addressing the Fifth Commandment of the Decalogue, ‘You shall not kill.’ The following is a reflection on CCC 2321.
The Fifth Commandment "You shall not kill" has various implications: don’t kill the other person, don’t let the other person kill you, don’t kill yourself. Even civil laws, such as "Stand your ground" or the "Castle Doctrine," recognize the right to self-defense. If an unjust aggressor dies at your hands as you defend yourself, your loved ones, those under your care, you have not transgressed the Fifth Commandment. Those who commit war crimes, such as those perpetrated by the Nazis in World War II (especially the Holocaust), the My Lai Massacre (16 March, 1968) or the gassing of the Iranian and Kurdsish populations by the government of Iraq (16-17 March, 1988) transgress the Fifth Commandment and if unrepentant await eternal damnation.
The Fifth Commandment "You shall not kill" does not hamper self-defense. When faced with an unjust aggressor each person has the right to repel such with as much resistance as is necessary. Proportionate resistence is important. While we may enjoy Indiana Jones as entertainment in the theater, we don’t bring a gun to a knife fight. If a blow or a wound will suffice to stop or repel the unjust aggressor, all the better.
Legitimate defense is a grave or serious responsibility for individuals, for those who are responsible for the lives of others and for those entrusted with the common good. In this we see the responsibility parents have in keeping their children safe, as employers their employees. Civic officials have responsibility to safeguard the citizenry.
The principles of the "just war" are relevant here. The Catechism highlights four: the damage inflicted by the aggressor is lasting, grave and certain; all other means of ending are either impractical or ineffective; a serious prospect of success is foreseen; and the use of force does not produce evils and disorders worse than those to be eliminated (CCC, 2309). For his part, Saint Thomas Aquinas, OP, (+1274) addressed the principles of the just war in his Summa Theologiae II-II Q. 4, A. 1. First, a just war is not a private affair, so it requires the authentic sovereign authority to declare war. Second, war is made in retribution of some wrong, to restore what was unjustly seized, or even as punishment for failure to make amends. Third, war is not to be waged for motives of cruelty or aggrandizement. Saint Augustine (+430), for his part, addresses the just war in his volume The City of God, book 19, chapter 7, recognizing the need to defend against hostile nations and the misery associated with war, even highlighting that the wise only wage just wars even as they lament their necessity.
May we be blessed with peace and do all that is necessary to ensure peace in our day.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr