Does God Listen to the Prayers of Those who Wage War?

I was a bit shocked by Pope Leo’s Palm Sunday homily.  He said “God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.”

A number of thoughts occurred to me when I read this.  My first thought was, is Pope Leo trying to change Catholic teaching on war and Safeguarding Peace?   If so, his homily could be a trial balloon.  And if it is a trial balloon, woe to the Catholic Church. Given the confusion that resulted regarding Catholic teaching during Pope Francis’ papacy I can only hope we are not in for more of the same.

My next thoughts were of my father, a Marine who fought on Iwo Jima, and my uncle who was in Patton’s army in Europe during World War II.  And I thought of one of my brothers-in-law and a cousin who fought in Viet Nam.  They all prayed to God to keep them safe.  Did God not listen to their prayers?  They were, after all, waging war.

What Isaiah Says

Dr. Marcus Peter writes that the Holy Father “might have been evoking Isaiah 1:15” when he said those words.  The pastor of my church, in his homily on Palm Sunday, offered the same opinion.

But Isaiah did not say that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.

In Isaiah Chapter One, the prophet is chastising Israel.  He says Israel has become a “Sinful nation, people laden with wickedness, evil offspring, corrupt children!” (1:4).  Then he says, “When you spread out your hands, I will close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood!” (1:15).

Dr. Peter notes that the language in the official Vatican text is clear. “The Italian original reads, “non ascolta la preghiera di chi fa la guerra,” which closely means that God does not hear the prayer of those who make or wage war.”

Isaiah is saying, however, that God does not hear the prayers of the wicked, the evil, or the corrupt.  And not everyone who wages war is evil, wicked or corrupt.  I don’t think George Washington, our Founding Fathers, or Abraham Lincoln were evil, wicked or corrupt.  And President Roosevelt cannot be considered evil or wicked for declaring war on a country that attacked the U.S. and on another country that was out to conquer the world.

So did God listen to the prayers of all those who waged war for American Independence and who fought to defend our country?  I think He did.  And I think He listens to all of the men and women who answer their country’s call and take up arms and wage war in defense of their county against evil, wicked and corrupt aggressors.

And therein may lie the key to what prayers God listens to and which ones He ignores.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

In the Catechism, Part 4, “Christian Prayer,” it says, “2591 God tirelessly calls each person to this mysterious encounter with Himself.”  It also says, “2725 Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. [T]he great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God.”

So prayer is a gift of grace from God and He “tirelessly” calls us to prayer.  But the Catechism echoes Isaiah as well.  In 2562 we are told “If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.”   And God most certainly knows what is in our hearts.

God does not listen to the prayers of the wicked, the evil, and those corrupted by grievous sin.  But good, virtuous, righteous men do wage war from time to time.

Wrong or Right?

St. Augustine spelled out what has become Catholic teaching – Just War Doctrine – in his magnificent book, “City of God.”  He says, in a nutshell, war is allowed for legitimate reasons.   And this has been Catholic teaching for 1,700 years.

Whether the Iran Conflict is a just war or not is the subject of much debate.  CS writer Tom Colligwood, for instance, offered his thoughts in a recent article “The Iran Conflict: Debates About What Makes a Just War.”  But I don’t think President Trump authorized the strikes on Iran with evil intent.  Good intentions alone, however, do not provide justification.

Clarity is Key

I hope Pope Leo meant something other than what he said.  I hope he meant that God does not listen to the prayers of leaders who wage war for evil, wicked or corrupt purposes.  This would make sense because Isaiah is clearly chastising the wicked.  But Pope Leo did not say this.

So we are now left to wonder what yet another Pope is trying to tell us.  Dr. Peter gives Pope Leo the benefit of the doubt.

“I strongly doubt Leo intended a doctrinal rupture from the pulpit on Palm Sunday. The homily as a whole is a meditation on Christ entering Jerusalem as the meek King who renounces vengeance, rebukes the sword in Gethsemane, and embraces the Cross for the salvation of the world. His dominant register is spiritual and biblical.

“He is preaching Christ crucified. He is not issuing a technical revision of just war doctrine in his homiletic statement.”

I hope Dr. Peter is correct.  But it would be nice if our Popes (and bishops) would speak more clearly and concisely, and give maybe a bit more thought to what they are saying.  They might also give more thought to how what they say might be  interpreted.