War, Peace and Moral Imperatives
I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.
(W.H. Auden, September 1, 1939)
Auden’s words, written on the brink of World War II as Hitler invaded Poland, still echo in a chilling way nearly 90 years later. War is evil. War is a moral abomination, a failure of rational humanity in favor of the most primal instincts to kill or be killed. War is all about destruction of people and property, the leveling of homes and cities, schools and churches, defense installations and hospitals alike. War does not respect the pleasantries of a normal daily life, but rather, it invades, upsets and threatens every dimension of life. The evil of war visits all sides no matter the original sincerity of intent; all parties are engaged in trying to kill each other.
Yes, despite its evil, murderous nature, sometimes war is necessary to protect the people and legitimate interests of a nation. Yes, there can be a “just war.” The U.S. engagement in World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor is a clear example of a “just war, ” as was this nation’s engagement with allies in the European theater to defeat Hitler. Other modern wars seemed murkier, quagmires of purpose and failed diplomacy. Vietnam. Iraq. Afghanistan.
The Catholic Church lays out the basis for “just war” in the catechism:
“The strict conditions for legitimate defense 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 eliminated. the power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition. These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the “just war” doctrine. The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.”
Debate currently rages about whether the decision of the U.S. and Israel to launch a war on Iran is a “just war.” The current president and his team claim that Iran posed an imminent threat to the safety and stability of our nation, including a nuclear threat. Other observers dispute this assessment. More learned commentators discuss the complexities of the Middle East and all of the complicated, shifting relationships. Many people, especially many Iranians, celebrate the toppling of the brutal regime that has governed that nation since 1979. Most of us only know what we read or hear through the news media, and we are jaded enough about media these days to know that we have to be wary of accepting any particular explanation since so many facts are manipulated; the new AI environment makes videos and photos very suspect.
While facts are hard for most lay persons to validate in situations like the present conflict, we know what our values are and must be. And in the context of declaring our values, we assert the primacy of respect for life, the essential need to strive for peace, and the demand for honesty and transparency from our public officials. Sadly, but not surprisingly, the War on Iran that we have seen across the last week is anything but transparent and truthful. The president and his Secretary of War speak almost gleefully about killing people, the opposite of respect for life, and they virtually spit in the eye of the idea of seeking peace through diplomacy.
In an extraordinary statement, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago rightfully condemned the White House for callously using a violent video splicing scenes from action videos with scenes from the bombing of Iran to proclaim “Justice the American Way,” a deeply cynical and utterly amoral portrayal of the horror of war.
In his remarks after the Angelus on March 1, 2026, the day after the U.S. and Israel started bombing Iran, Pope Leo XIV said, “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.”
And again after the Angelus on March 8, the Pope said, “Deeply disturbing news continues to arrive from Iran and the entire Middle East. In addition to the episodes of violence and devastation as well as the widespread climate of hatred and fear, there is also the concern that the conflict will spread and that other countries in the region, including beloved Lebanon, may again sink back into instability. We lift up our humble prayer to the Lord, so that the thunderous sound of bombs may cease, weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open up in which the voice of the people can be heard.”
Washington Cardinal Robert McElroy also gave an interview on the war in this week’s Catholic Standard in which he discusses the reasons why the War on Iran does not meet the Church’s criteria for a “just” war.
The War on Iran is likely to go on for quite some time, and what we know today may well change and influence different points of view in the future. As students and teachers at Trinity, we all have an obligation to learn as much as we can, to stay informed and to seek out points of view that may well be different from our own, perspectives that can illuminate our thinking and contribute to greater understanding of a very complex situation that has serious implications for all of us in the United States.
To understand the initial opinions of the Trinity community, I posed two questions on an informal anonymous straw poll last week, and the results are below, with 85 responses just about equally divided among students, faculty and staff.
The first question asked respondents to indicate their opinion about the war:
The second question asked respondents to elaborate on their opinion answer. You didn’t hold back! Numerous well-crafted statements came into the poll. Below is a representative sample:
“I support the removal of a totalitarian government and the world’s largest supporter terrorism. I only hope that what fills the void is not worse.”
“I do not support military action in Iran. There is already so much happening here in the United States that has people scared and uncertain. With ICE being more present in communities across Maryland and DC, many people are already living with a lot of fear and stress daily. Now, on top of everything we are already dealing with at home, we have to worry about the risk of being attacked or drawn into another conflict overseas. It is too much. I am a student just trying to focus on my future, and it is hard to do that when our leaders keep making decisions that put all of us at greater risk. I urge policymakers to address what is happening here at home and to choose diplomacy over war.”
“The Iranian regime violently took over during Arab Spring, and has been oppressing women for decades. Recently, the marriage age in Iran was lowered to 9 years of age for girls. The UN has been silent on this, which is frankly very disappointing but not unexpected based on the countries that sit on the Human Rights Council currently. When women are blinded with acid for showing their hair, human rights are absolutely being violated. When political prisoners are being raped due to the religious belief that unmarried non-virgins cannot get into heaven, human rights are being violated. When corpses are being mutilated by having their uteruses removed to hide the level of depravity of their sexual abuse, human rights are being violated. When human rights are being violated to this degree, it is right to step in. The call by the current administration has been to ask Iranians to take their country back, and many Iranians are celebrating, dancing, and shedding the oppression of religious extremism. I frankly don’t understand how anyone willing to look at the facts can possibly be against this. It is long overdue.”
“I am appalled at President Trump’s continual overreach of executive power. He does not have the legal authority to wage war unless the US is under imminent threat…which we clearly were/are not. Netanyahu and Trump, individually and collectively, are perpetrating violence on countless people around the globe without the slightest concerns for human rights. Regardless of the evils Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inflicted on the Iranian people, Israel and the US’s solution to inflict war on the country was self-centered and short-sighted. Evidence is the 153 dead at the girls’ primary school and the 100 more wounded. Violence leads to more violence…and eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. I fear we are destined for blindness unless the resistance rapidly increases in number and power.”
“Instead of war, we need to be clear on priorities. War gratifies short-term objectives, and does not inspire planning for a sustainable future. It destabilizes regions, and leads to more conflict down the road. In a world that is currently fixated on immediate, trendy outcomes, this can be countered through the disciplined, focused approach that is required for building alliances, instead of enemies. Reflected through humility, space for collaboration, and follow-through, this approach is the necessary response to war. This war is not being acted on good faith, only a few will benefit financially at the expense of people’s lives.”
“Me as an Iranian, we are so happy for that, we are glad about the fall of our country’s leader and we are very thankful.”
“Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons, so destroying their capacity to develop nuclear technology is warranted. On a more human level, Iranian people were desperate to be freed from an oppressive regime. The celebrations from Tehran to here in DC offer proof that the people of Iran feel liberated from a theocracy that treated women like property. I am hopeful that Iran will be reborn and that we will see images from that country that resemble those from the 1960s and 1970s, before the Islamic Revolution. In this country, there will be loud outrage and condemnation of the regime change in Iran, just as there was earlier this year in Venezuela. But the people who actually live in those places tell a much different and more nuanced story, and we should be listening to them.”
“History has taught us that bombardments do not lead to conflict resolution or meaningful improvements in foreign regimes. In these attacks on Iran, there seems to be an underlying assumption that the United States is untouchable. Retaliation may not come in the short term, but what should we expect in the future? That uncertainty concerns me deeply. I believe Americans should begin urging their elected officials to oppose further escalation before it is too late.”
“I support the war because I believe theocracy is an abhorrent system that should never be tolerated. Iran is a massive country full of good people that have been oppressed by the IRGC for decades, they absolutely need help from someone. On the other hand, Trump is the no new wars guy, Trump is the America first guy. Trump has over a decade claiming that Obama and Biden would start a war with Iran as a manipulative attempt to garner support, only to turn around and do it himself. And then the manchild Pete Hegseth is in charge of military ops, yet he said regime change is not our goal. What? Why have we invaded then? Is it not for the virtuous act of liberating these oppressed people? Obviously not, we know why this war has started. Israel wanted this (justifiably IMO) as retaliation for Iran’s role in helping plan the October 7th attacks and Trump bowed down to them. All so we can have a smokescreen that distracts the public from the fact that Donald Trump is both a pedophile and a rapist, among many other things that he deserves to be jailed for. What good can come of this when the war was started to manipulate the media? When it’s being ran by incompetent morons? I can only hope that Israel, the only adult in the room, is committed to helping Iran reform its government by setting up a democracy.”
“While Iran has been a deeply oppressive country, President’s Trump decision to go to war is ethically problematic, as it lacks clear objectives, good safeguards, or proper legal authorization. It also has the likelihood to destabilize an already unstable region, without any coherent plans for stability and peace. It is wildly risky, and I fear, meant to be yet another way for the administration to distract from ongoing ethical and legal concerns domestically.”
“There are many problems with this war- illegal, not justified, pre-emptive (but preempting what?), possibly at the behest of an ally, observably poorly executed, clearly not well thought out- but an issue that has come up today and could be something Trinity in particular should address; an alarmingly large number of officers have been telling soldiers that this is a holy war, that Trump is god’s chosen, their actions will secure their place in the Rapture, and that this is necessary to usher in the end times. Reports of complaints from concerned officers, noncoms, and enlisted across dozens of bases have surfaced today. This is horrifying not only with regards to how this war abroad will be conducted but the degree to which the state’s tools of violence- military and law enforcement- are compromised by irrational, cultish thinking. ”
“My belief is that the US interfered in Middle Eastern conflict for political and capital gains such as oil. I don’t agree with the US striking first because it show future generations that we cannot resolve conflict peacefully. The President should be protecting US airspace and be more empathetic to the hardships the American people are going through financially. This war will be a distraction. I am a DC resident; I fear because of the war DC will be a target and there will be no way for under-served communities to seek shelter if a disaster were to happen. What is the emergency plan?”
“I do not support U.S. involvement in a war with Iran. Our government should remain focused on pressing domestic priorities, including addressing inflation, lowering the cost of living, and ensuring accountability in ongoing investigations related to the Epstein files. Entering into a conflict that does not clearly advance U.S. national security interests would place American service members at unnecessary risk. This does not appear to be a war the United States needs to fight.”
“No one is denying the threat from Iran’s Missiles and Nuclear Program. The U.S. of A is suffering with rising cost, immigration raids, government shutdowns, a failed and frozen housing market, food insecurities, increase in energy costs and plethora of other domestic matters. How is the War on Iran going to solve the problems Americans are facing day in and day out.”
“I have several reasons for opposing the war in Iran: 1. Only congress can declare war, but Trump launched that attack without congressional approval, meaning his actions were illegal. 2. Israel, with the support of the Trump administration, is currently committing genocide against the people of Palestine. 3. To my knowledge Iran has not instigated anything against the USA. 4. Netanyahu stated they launched the attack to prevent Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, but that was the reason given for the previous attack on Iranian military installations. 5. Given the current economic situation in the USA, the country cannot afford to go to war. If the US wins they would have needlessly spent billions on an unnecessary war. If the US loses the US and its people will suffer horrific societal and economic damage.”
“These are very unnerving and scary times. I believe that Israel’s unchecked impunity for its brutal actions and not being held accountable for over 75 years led to this point with the USA’s enabling hand, and I am fearful that it may go beyond – towards a third world war.”
“This war in Iran is causing many innocent people to die and a lot of fear amongst the international world. The United States and Israel cannot say that they are “freeing” the Iranian people, while also bombing and killing Iranian people.”
“While I am grieved at the suffering of the Iranian people during the recent uprising, the US and Israel dropping bombs on Iran seems like a poor solution. This administration’s ham-handed ‘diplomacy’ has all but closed out more peaceful options. This is a Trump war where he is playing with toy soldiers and I am certain he has no long term plan. This will not end well for anyone.”
“President Trump and his administration have a revolving set of justifications, and it seems that there was no imminent threat from Iran. The U.S. should not go to war without authorization from Congress.”
“I’m not sure why leaders still think regime change wars will work. I feel like there have been many examples thru out history that tell us otherwise.”
“In general, I am opposed to war. I prefer diplomatic negotiations to be exhausted before war. In this instance, Iran has been considered a long time enemy for a variety of reasons. However, the war with Iran was escalated prematurely because I am confused about the “imminent threat” imposed on the US. I am concerned about the abuse of power in beginning war without congressional approval. I have questions about ulterior motives that may exist in obtaining resources from Iran. Even with all of these questions that seem as if I’m opposing war, news media has shared that Iran’s uranium stockpile was nearing levels needed to create nuclear warheads which would be devastating to the US and our allies. If this is true and all diplomatic negotiations had been exhausted, the US with support of our allies may have had no other choice except war. I’m not certain whether I can trust our news media so I am seeking clarification through foreign media outlets. Even still, I’m not certain who or what information to trust.”
If you would like to add your comment, please do so in the comment section below. Thanks to all who shared their thoughts! I will be writing more about this in the weeks ahead…. and let me know if you have ideas about programs Trinity might conduct to open up this dialogue for our community.
Pray for peace!
