It will not surprise CC readers that I side with Robert [Miller] in this matter, and note that it would have been unthinkable for the pontiff to have called on both sides to stand down when the Turks stood on the outskirts of Vienna, ready to take the Christian city for Islam. ~Rod Dreher

Rod refers here to a disagreement between Robert Miller and Frederica Matthewes-Green at First Things over Pope Benedict’s call for an immediate cease-fire.  I appreciated Matushka Frederica’s appropriate recognition of the inversion of worldly values that we, as Christians, are called to embrace and live.  It was a timely reminder, and stated something that everyone involved in the debate about this campaign sometimes loses sight of: that the Way of the Cross is not one of glory, honour or power, but of humiliation, suffering and kenotic love.  The Cross militates against any zeal for Macht. 

I was less impressed by the predictable anti-Vatican refrain of yet another First Things contributor on a question of war and peace made in the name of prudential judgement.  Invariably, whenever the Vatican pronounces on a question of war, someone at First Things will start shouting, “Prudential judgement of the magistrate!”  Which has tended to become, unfortunately, little more than a loophole to get out of having to provide serious moral justification for the use of force, whether in Iraq or elsewhere.  The bottom line is always this: bishops can’t really say much about these things, because they don’t know enough and aren’t in the position to make the decision, so they really ought to just keep their mouths shut, unless it is to offer benedictions for the invasion. 

Strictly speaking, it is not the concern of Pope Benedict or indeed of any other hierarch whether a cease-fire seems to benefit one belligerent more than another: their concern is to preach the Gospel and teach in Christ’s name, and this will extend to calling for an end to hostilities, particularly for the sake of sparing noncombatants the horrors of war.  This is a question of Christian charity towards our fellow men, which is the preeminent virtue and the second greatest commandment.  If Rome had had some means to convince Suleyman to stop attacking Vienna simply by calling for peace, I believe the Pope would have done so, since the Christians were the ones who were hard-pressed in that siege and in need of relief.  But, then, Vienna was a Christian city under attack and in danger of falling, which might have made it seem more important to Rome, not a non-Christian state bombarding and displacing Christian and Muslim populations alike.  Moreover, if the Vatican views the current attack on Lebanon as unjustified, why would Pope Benedict time his call for a cease-fire in such a way as to benefit a campaign that he does not believe is justified?  I believe Pope Benedict is on very solid moral ground in refusing to endorse either side and calling for an end to hostilities.  If that position seems wrong to some of us, the problem probably does not rest with Pope Benedict.