Magnifica Humanitas: Culture of Power and Civilization of Love

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By Eli S. McCarthy PhD

Georgetown University

Roadmap

Magnifica Humanitas

Core Question

How do we recognize and live in accord with our sacred human dignity?�

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Culture of Power and Civilization of Love

• Leo Sees:
• Normalization of war
• Distorted political realism

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• 110. I would like to employ the expression “to disarm,” which is close to my heart. Disarming AI means freeing it from the mentality of “armed” competition, which today is not limited simply to the military context, but is also an economic and cognitive phenomenon. �
• 124. Certain events make it clear that history can also change when individuals truly take the dignity of everyone seriously:
• the civil rights movement in the United States of America, closely associated with the testimony of Martin Luther King Jr.,
• the end of apartheid in South Africa following the release of Nelson Mandela and his decision not to surrender the future to hatred.
• many courageous and generous women have also stood out, including Saint Laura Montoya, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, Dorothy Day, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Maria Montessori, Elisabeth Elliot, Wangari Maathai, Benazir Bhutto and countless others from every continent whose commitment has contributed to making history more humane.�

Culture of Power and Civilization of Love

• 183. AI acts as an accelerating factor in these processes…Consequently, what is created for defense can be rapidly repurposed for offense, and the fine line between protection and aggression becomes blurred.”

• 192. Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the “just war” theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated. Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness. 

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• 198. No algorithm can make war morally acceptable. AI does not remove the intrinsic inhumanity of conflict (war)

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Pope Francis

Fratelli Tutti, 2020

• 258. War can easily be chosen by invoking all sorts of allegedly humanitarian or defensive excuses... In recent decades, every single war has been ostensibly “justified”. …We can no longer think of war as a solution, because its risks will probably always be greater than its supposed benefits. In view of this, it is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a “just war”. Never again war! [242] �
• Footnote strategy: “Saint Augustine, who forged a concept of “just war” that we no longer uphold in our own day”

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Pope Francis

2022

• Mar. 16: “Wars are always unjust. Because the one who pays is the people of God,"… “There was a time, even in our Churches, when people spoke of a holy war or a just war. Today we cannot speak in this manner. A Christian awareness of the importance of peace has developed. �
• Mar. 18: There is no such thing as a just war: they do not exist!”

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• June 30: As believers, we must necessarily find the answers to these questions in the Gospel: in Jesus, who calls us to be merciful and never violent.

• Oct. 18: “…the events of the first two decades of this century compel me to add, unambiguously, that there is no occasion in which a war can be considered just.”

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Implications

Nine Reasons to let go of JWT

• 1) Fails to adequately prevent or limit war
• Mostly used to justify wars, especially by political leaders
• 2) Gets us stuck in cycles of violence and war
• Even if JW criteria appear to be met
• 3) Correlates with significant structural and cultural violence
• 4) Fails to provide guidance to address root causes
• 5) Little contribution to cultivating courageous nonviolent peacemakers
• 6) Violates human dignity
• Foundation of Catholic Social Teaching
• 7) Consistent harm to the environment
• 8) Obstructs Vatican II’s call to “outlaw all war”
• 9) At best distracts and may even obstruct us from Jesus’ way

Legitimate Defense?

“Just Peace”

• Psalm 85: God’s promise that “justice and peace shall embrace.”
• This image is the embodiment of God’s vision for our world—God’s shalom. “Shalom” is often translated as “peace,” but its Hebrew roots imply a deeper meaning of peace that goes beyond cessation of violence toward a holistic vision of well-being, healing, and restoration involving all areas of social and economic life. Rabbinic ethics: it denotes the overcoming of strife, quarrel, and social tension, the prevention of enmity and war.

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Just Peace Framework

Just Peace: Framework and Process

• Focus on 3 categories of action:
• virtues and skills to transform conflict
• breaking cycles of violence
• building more sustainable peace

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Just Peace Norms

• 1) Virtues and skills to transform conflict
• sustaining spiritual disciplines
• virtuous habits
• learning nonviolent skills and analysis
• participatory processes
• forming nonviolent peacemaking communities, institutions, and cultures

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Just Peace Norms

• 2) Breaking cycles of violence
• reflexivity: keeping the means consistent with the ends
• re-humanization: through the language and narratives we emphasize
• conflict transformation and dialogue: address root causes, such as trauma-healing and independent initiatives to build trust

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Just Peace Norms

• 2) Breaking cycles of violence
• nonviolent direct action: such as civil resistance, unarmed civilian protection, and nonviolent civilian-based defense
• acknowledging responsibility for harm: such as restorative justice
• integral disarmament

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Research on NV

Research on NV and War

• NV resistance during armed conflicts 1) significantly reduce conflict deaths; 2) increase chances for negotiated settlement; and 3) chances for post-war democratization

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• Ineffectiveness of war
• Poor success rate; most leave both sides worse off then before
• Vast majority of deaths are civilians
• Leads to huge spikes in poverty
• Military interventions normally prolong the conflict
• Mass atrocities almost always emerge out of wars already underway
• Ex. 70% of time when regimes face an armed insurgency

Just Peace Norms

• 3) Building sustainable peace
• relationality and reconciliation
• robust civil society and just governance
• ecological sustainability
• human dignity and human rights of all
• economic, gender, and racial justice with a focus on the marginalized and vulnerable

JP Cases

Just Peace Ethic Primer: book

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Just Peace and NV Skill Training Hubs

• Pope Leo (MH) 214. The first contribution we can make toward a more humane civilization is to be mindful of our words. “Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world.” Words have enormous power, something we experience in our daily interactions; for example, spoken words can change our mood for better or for worse. “Peace begins with each one of us: in the way we look at others, listen to others and speak about others. In this sense, the way we communicate is of fundamental importance: we must say ‘no’ to the war of words and images, we must reject the paradigm of war.” We must all, therefore, examine our conscience regarding the words we use, the prejudices we have and the explicit or implicit aggression that lies within them. 
• Skill of Nonviolent Communication

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• NV skill Training Hubs: ex. universities, parishes, etc.
• Existing at Georgetown University, Boston College, University of San Francisco, Manhattan University�

Summary