Crannóggy Island

As we witness the sheer horror of modern warfare in Gaza, and also in Ukraine , and see the widespread suffering, death, devastation and destruction daily on our television screens, and its impact on innocent men, women and children, any right-minded person is traumatised and forced to confront the question: Is modern warfare ever justified? Catholic teaching on the elements enumerated in "Just War" doctrine states: The strict conditions for legitimate defence by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:  - 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 eli...

After many years in a spiritual wilderness, Happy Jack was in Westminster attending a professional conference on child abuse. It was a particularly difficult stage of his life, both professionally and personally. He happened to be passing Westminster Cathedral and felt drawn to enter. He hadn't crossed the threshold of a Catholic Church for many years and had a sense of ambivalence about this.  He sat at the back. He felt like an intruder. The hymn below was being sung by the choir and, truthfully, it triggered a process that reshaped his life. Even today when he hears it, it brings a tear to his eye.  Do Not Be Afraid For I Have Redeemed You After the service, Happy Jack went to Confession - not easy after some 20+ years of sinning! After what Happy Jack now knows to have been a "general confession" ( click here for more on this ), the young priest said to him: "These are serious sins." Happy Jack's reply : "Well, yes, that's why I'm here!...

No words .... 

What is "Proportionality" in Waging a Just War? As the world (again) calls on Israel to respond "proportionately" to Hamas terrorism, and some accuse her of inflicting "collective punishment" (e.g., Humza Yousef), and "war crimes" on Gaza citizens, we need to ask "what does proportionality mean?" In everyday usage, the word ‘proportional’ implies numerical comparability and that seems to be what most of Israel’s critics have in mind. However, the “proportion” in just-war theory is not in relation to the injury you received , but to the just goals you hope to secure . That is, proportionality in just war theory licenses the amount of violence necessary to achieve a just goal. It may very well be that Israel will inflict many more casualties in Gaza in pursuit of its goal - the eradication of Hamas . Some of those will be because Hamas hides among the common population. The criterion of discrimination in just-war theory prohibits direct...

"When we speak about the Army of Jerusalem and the Battle of the Promise of the Hereafter, we are not talking about liberating our land alone. We believe in what our Prophet Muhammad said: 'Allah drew the ends of the world near one another for my sake, and I have seen its eastern and western ends. The dominion of my nation would reach those ends that have been drawn near me.' "The entire 510million square kilometres of Planet Earth will come under [a system] where there is no injustice, no oppression, no treachery, no Zionism, no treacherous Christianity, and no killings and crimes, like those being committed against the Palestinians, and against the Arabs in all the Arab countries – in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries." (Mahmoud Al-Zahar, S enior Hamas Official, December 2022) In a series of Tweets, December 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu stated: “These are the basic lines of a national government led by me. The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestiona...

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – October 8, 2023   Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Phil 4:6–9) Homily We often feel crushed under the weight of the anxieties of our lives and of the world — anxieties that come from personal struggles, family struggles, work struggles. We might worry about a loved one who is sick. We might worry about elderly parents. We worry about children or other family members going down the wro...

The Rev. Ven Dr Edward Dowler, Archdeacon of Hastings, offers this commentary on the part of the Responsum related to the blessing of same-sex relationships. In marked contrast to many in the Catholic blogosphere, he concludes the response is both brief and clear, and that Pope Francis is not changing Church doctrine. In the context of the current Synod on Synodality taking place in Rome, Pope Francis has responded to a series of five dubia or questions, submitted by a group of cardinals who are suspicious of what they see as liberalising trends in the Church. Francis’s response to the second of these on the subject of same-sex unions has already been warmly welcomed by some high profile Anglican commentators as a ‘monumental’ development; indeed, the contention is that the Roman Catholic Church has now leap frogged over the Church of England into a more progressive position. In reality, there would be an outcry if the Pope’s responses had been written by any bishop in the Church o...

Cardinals Send ‘Dubia’ to Pope Francis before Synod on Synodality Let Your "Yes" be "Yes" and Your "No" "No" Five cardinals have submitted a new set of dubia , or "doubts" , to Pope Francis regarding his Synod of Bishops on synodality which opens on Wednesday. The doubts focus on women’s ordination, the blessing of same-sex unions and the authority of the synod to issue binding teaching. Dubia are formal questions brought before the pope and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) aimed at eliciting a “yes” or “no” response, without theological argumentation. They are typically raised by cardinals or other high-ranking members of the Church and are meant to seek clarification on matters of doctrine or Church teaching. The signatories to the new dubia are German Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, American Cardinal Raymond Burke, Mexican Cardinal Sandoval Íñiguez, Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, and Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former Bis...