August 18, 2014

Pope Francis Backs Military Force Against Extremists in Iraq, Calls for UN Involvement

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/catholicism/8561266141/in/photolist-e39xCm-ehTa95-e3wHuF-e3wp4R-ec1WTT-e3wJ9V-ec21hx-e3wmxT-e3C8sd-e4x2yY-kwM3V2-kwP87y-kwM6GV-kwPaGd-kwM8s8-kwMuvP-kwMw8B-e3CrzS-kwM2ZV-e3vFaT-e3ws8V-e3C3Ey-ehU2SJ-e4ptrx-e3woKR-nncpnS-e4v1W3-e3C161-ec7GL5-ehU96m-e3C5iU-ehNdBB-e4vckm-ec1Tdr-nVPe2k-e4v4vW-e3Cuk7-n6kCQk-jBVjNL-ec1Zri-e4qRYr-e4x2jf-e4wrNY-e4roep-e4x43u-n6n6g5-ec7Dr3-ec243M-e4va8h-e4puYH">Catholic Church (England and Wales)</a>/Flickr

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President Obama’s recent decision to use force against Islamic extremists in Iraq has drawn some unexpected support. The AP reported Monday that Pope Francis told reporters in response to questions about the US military intervention that “in these cases, where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor.”

But Francis stopped short of endorsing specific military actions. “I underscore the verb ‘stop,'” he added, according to the AP. “I’m not saying ‘bomb’ or ‘make war,’ just ‘stop.’ And the means that can be used to stop them must be evaluated.” And he made clear that he wanted the international community—not just the United States—to decide how to combat the violence in Iraq:

“One nation alone cannot judge how you stop this, how you stop an unjust aggressor,” he said, apparently referring to the United States. “After World War II, the idea of the United Nations came about: It’s there that you must discuss ‘Is there an unjust aggression? It seems so. How should we stop it?’ Just this. Nothing more.”

Two weeks ago, Obama ordered air strikes against the Islamic State—a terrorist group that now controls parts of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon—which at the time was threatening to seize control of of Irbil, the Kurdish capital. The group has waged a violent campaign against Iraqi religious minorities, stranding tens of thousands of members of the Yazidi sect in the mountains near Irbil without food or water. On August 8, the Islamic State seized the city of Qaraqosh, Iraq’s largest Christian city, forcing thousands of Christians to flee, convert, pay a fine, or be murdered “by the sword,” according to CNN. Many Iraqi Christians are Chaldeans, a branch of Catholicism.

The Vatican’s support for the US intervention, which includes strikes by drones and piloted US fighter jets as well as humanitarian aid for the Yazidis, seems to be somewhat unusual. Just last September, Francis held a massive vigil urging the United States to refrain from engaging militarily in the conflict in Syria following massive chemical weapons attacks, which killed more than 1,300 people. Francis described war in 2013 as a “defeat for humanity,” echoing the words of Pope John Paul II. In 2003, the Vatican condemned the US invasion of Iraq as a “crime against peace.”

But, as the AP points out, “The Vatican has been increasingly showing support for military intervention in Iraq, given that Christians are being directly targeted because of their faith.”

This article has been revised.

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