John Moran: Pope wrong; sometimes violence necessary for peace

I take issue with many of the things the pope said in his speech on Sept. 23, but I’ll limit it to one: “Never has the use of violence brought peace in its wake.”

Whaaaaat?? Were the sacrifices made on the beaches of Normandy for nothing. Were they not violent? Didn’t that very violent confrontation help bring an end to the atrocities of the Nazis in WWII? When two gun-toting terrorists who were en route to assassinate artists at a Mohammed cartoon convention were taken out by gunfire by a security guard, didn’t that save many lives? When two brave members of our military and another man subdued a terrorist on a subway in France, those whose lives were saved would disagree with the statement about violence and peace.

Mostly, I would think the leader of the Catholic church would remember Isaiah, which says, “The chastisement that brought us peace was upon Him.”

Was that chastisement a peaceful event in Jesus’ life? Is the Old Testament full of comfortable bedtime stories, or a sober account of God’s will through history? The speech today sounded more like 1960s utopian rhetoric than a biblical viewpoint concerning the world’s ongoing struggles.

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 5:43 PM with the headline "John Moran: Pope wrong; sometimes violence necessary for peace."