Civilians in the Line of Fire in the Light of Catholic Social Teaching
Streszczenie
In our world today, afflicted by wars between States, by conflict between groups
within States, and by the scourge of terrorism, civilians constitute the ‘vast majority
of casualties in situations of armed conflict’ (UN Security Council, Resolution
1894, 2009). Civilian victims of documented and un-documented armed conflicts
and their destructive consequences run in the millions. An overwhelming majority
of the dead, injured, disabled are civilians and damages caused by armed conflicts
primarily affect the civilian infrastructure and the basic resources of subsistence of
entire populations.
Civilians today are in the line of fire not only as a side effect of war. Increasingly, they are becoming the prime and intentional targets of combatants and armed
elements. ‘Political and military designs supersede basic respect for the dignity and
rights of persons and communities’ (Migliore 2009) and civilians are becoming deliberate targets and means for achieving political or military gains. They are even
being used as a human shield for armed advancement.
The menace of civilian deaths in the line of fire is of utmost concern for all
humanity, for all religions, and for Christianity. Among the foundational teachings
on which the Catholic perspective to this important issue of placing civilians in the
line of fire is based, we can identify three core beliefs: a) all human beings are equal
in dignity and their life is sacred; b) the right and duty to defend the life and common
good from unjust aggressors; c) the permanent validity of the moral law forbidding murder even in the context of armed conflicts. After considering these the paper
studies some of the ways in which the Catholic Church responds to the situation of
civilians caught in the line of fire.
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