Catholic Life Ministries

By Robert Fontana

The United States and Israel are at war with Iran.  Pope Francis wrote in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship):

“War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil…”

If you know just a little history of the Middle East, you know that there are no innocent parties involved. The Arab nations as we now know them were formed by the French and the British at the end of World War I, in part to ensure that oil found in the Middle East would flow to the West. In the late 19^th– and early 20^th– centuries, Palestinian Jews and Palestinian Arabs lived side by side with a measure of peace. That delicate co-existence changed with the vast increase of Jews who settled in Palestine through the Zionist movement and with the resettlement of Jews in Palestine following WW II. The British were responsible for Palestine. The discussions at that time focused on a two-state solution to resolve the tensions between Jews and Palestinians. That did not happen. When Israel was formed as a nation in 1948, thousands of Palestinian Arabs, both Christian and Muslim, were displaced.

In 1953 the United States CIA helped overthrow the government of Iran and put into power the Shah of Iran who led a pro-Western dictatorship with a security force as cruel and oppressive as the German Gestapo. The Shah was overthrown in 1979, and replaced by Ayatollah Khomeini, who became the supreme leader of the newly established Islamic Republic. And we have all heard of the trauma, torture, and oppression he has imposed on the Iranian people!

I write this brief history to remind us that there are no saints in this struggle for power in the Middle East, but there are plenty of innocent victims, mostly women and children, who suffer the brunt of oppressive governments and ensuing wars. There have been some heroic leaders who tried to work for peace, e.g. Rabin of Israel and Sadat of Egypt, but they were murdered by extremists who did not want a peace that made Arabs and Israelis neighbors.

Like St. Augustine, who developed the Just War Theory that the Catholic Church adopted, I’m persuaded there are times when military intervention is essential, for example, in Ukraine’s defense against Russian invasion. But even there, what a woeful failure of “politics and humanity.” 

I do not trust this administration to wage a just war because I do not see a concern for justice coming from the White House. What I do see is a stance of bullying in dealing with undocumented migrants, with anyone who disagrees with White House policies, and even with our long-standing allies, such as Canada and NATO partners. Now the bullying approach is applied to Iran.

Here’s what Pope Leo XIV said about the war (March 1, Angelus):

I am following with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran during this tumultuous time. Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue.  Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions, I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm. May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace.

During this Lenten season let us carry the trauma and pain of the innocent victims of this war and all the    current wars, in our journey towards the cross. Hold them close in our personal prayer and the prayers of our parish church. 

As an action, let us contact our congressional leaders and DEMAND THAT MILITARY OPERATIONS CEASE and that the US with its allies return to DIALOGUE WITH THE IRANIANS AND US ALLIES FOR A PEACEFUL WAY FORWARD.