Gerald W. Schlabach

GeraldSchlabach.Net

Menu
  • About
    • Interview
    • Mennonite Catholic
    • Benedictine
    • Bridgefolk
    • A few convictions
      • A statement of faith
      • On Christian education
      • On the “core questions” for a liberal arts education
    • Family mission statement (1996)
  • CV
    • Table of contents
    • Personal data
    • Education
    • Books published
    • Articles in peer-reviewed journals
    • Articles in other journals & anthologies
    • Conference papers & public presentations
    • Other publications
    • Professional experience
    • Service activities
    • Professional organizations
  • Commentary (blog)
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Talks
  • Poetry, etc.
  • Resources
    • Dom Hélder Câmara
      Speeches to the Mani Tese Youth Movement, 1972
    • Courses
      • Syllabi
    • Handouts
      • A sense of history: some components
      • The ten commandments of good historical writing
      • Tips on reading Thomas Aquinas
  • Contact
Menu

Just policing:
how war could cease to be a church-dividing issue

Posted on May 31, 2004May 31, 2017 by Gerald Schlabach

Abstract:

Might Christians who have long been divided along just-war and pacifist lines agree some day that just policing—and only just policing—is legitimate? In an essay first written as a resource for the first international dialogue between Mennonites and Roman Catholics, the author offers a thought experiment on what would be necessary for war eventually to cease to be a “church-dividing” issue. The category of policing is distinguishable from warfare in its psychosocial dynamics and accountability to the rule of law; however, it has received surprisingly inadequate attention within both pacifist and just-war traditions. Historic peace churches and just-war-affirming churches can continue to converge by exploring shared ways of understanding the ethics of just policing and its extension into international policing. To do so convincingly, however, both must embody their arguments through far wider pastoral and social practices.

Journal of Ecumenical Studies 41, no. 3–4 (Summer-Fall 2004): 409-430.

Click here to download or read on Academia.Com.

Recent posts

  • Washing All Our Relatives’ Feet:
    A Homily for Creation Care
  • Of Elves and Theologians
  • Where Have You Gone, Malcolm Gladwell?
    An Open Letter
  • A Pilgrim People:
    Becoming a Catholic Peace Church
  • Ars Profetica
  • We Are All Monks Now
  • The Mystery in Ordinary Churches

Search

Affiliations

  • Bridgefolk
  • Catholic Nonviolence Initiative
  • Department of Theology, University of St. Thomas
  • St. Peter Claver Catholic Church

Scholarship

  • Academia.Com
  • Catholic Peacebuilding Network
  • Catholic Theological Society of America
  • Society of Christian Ethics
  • The Tolkien Society

Archives

©2025 Gerald W. Schlabach