Conscientious objectors who fled to Canada to escape the draft were vilified in the press and in neighborhoods as "cowards" and "draft dodgers."
Returning soldiers were spat upon, ostracized, and vilified as "Baby Killers."
I myself was heart-broken and confused because I could see the goodness of both the sincere soldiers and the sincere conscientious objectors. I kept asking myself "Who's right?" Gradually I came to realize that both soldiers and conscientious objectors can be right.
I read healing words: "The Christian tradition possesses two ways to address conflict: non-violence and just war. They both share the common goal: to diminish violence in this world." (U.S. Bishops, "A Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace." ) And I thought deeply about the words of a moral theologian, who suggested that God needs both committed soldiers and committed pacifists to keep a moral balance in this world. Life is complex. Truth and Reality call for both soldiers to preserve peace and protect the innocent through fighting in wars, and pacifists to break the chain of injustice by "not being afraid to confront evil with the weapons of truth and love alone." (Pope Benedict XVI)
In describing the criteria that must be met in order for a war to be just, the U.S. Bishops say "The theory of the just war, or limited war, begins with a presumption that binds all Christians, we must love our neighbors and our enemies. The possibility of taking even one human life must be a prospect we should consider with fear and trembling." (from "The Challenge of Peace." )
Their criteria for a just war include: 1) a Just Cause - the necessity to confront a real and certain danger, i.e. to protect innocent life, to preserve conditions necessary for decent human life and basic human rights. 2) War must be declared by those with responsibility for public order, not by private groups or individuals. 3) All peaceful alternatives must have been exhausted.
4) No state should act on the basis that it has 'absolute justice' on its side. Every party to a conflict must acknowledge the limits of its just cause and use only limited means in pursuit of its objectives. 5) Actions within a war must never be "total war," nuclear war, and must never target civilian populations or non-military targets.
One can see that, especially in regards to number five, it is very difficult if not impossible to call any war completely just today.
Conscientious objectors are those who claim the right to refuse to perform military service on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion. In some countries, they are assigned to an alternative civilian service as a substitute for conscription or military service. Some conscientious objectors oppose all war. Some oppose only a particular war. Some oppose only certain parts of warfare. In 2003, in Israel, twenty-seven reserve pilots and former pilots refused to serve on any missions that involved bombing civilian population centers in the occupied territories.
Christian conscientious objectors (including Quakers, Mennonites, Amish, etc.) believe that Christian life is incompatible with military action because Jesus enjoins his followers to love their enemies and refuse violence. For Buddhists, one of the five precepts is "I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures." Both Sikhs and Hindus believe war should be a last resort and should be fought to sustain life and morality in society.
The Catholic Church supports legal protection for those who conscientiously refuse to participate in any war (conscientious objectors) and for those who cannot, in good conscience, serve in specific conflicts or perform specific actions they consider unjust (selective conscientious objectors). (from "The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace.")
Conscience is the key word here. The way for all human beings to make a correct moral choice is through prayer or meditation, finding the facts, and consulting their individual consciences, the law inscribed by God in the human heart, the most secret sanctuary where we are alone with God and listen to God's Wisdom. In fact, one's conscience must be obeyed before all else! Vatican 11's "Decree on Religious Freedom" calls on all of us, including governments, to uphold the primacy of the individual conscience: "In all his activity, a man is bound to follow his conscience faithfully in order that he may come to God for whom he was created. It follows that he is not to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his conscience. Nor, on the other hand, is he to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience, especially in matters religious."
And so, I can support the conscience of Chris Kyle, "American Sniper," when he says "It was my duty to shoot the enemy, and I don't regret it. Savage, despicable evil. That's what we were fighting in Iraq....when I do go face God, there is going to be lots of things I will have to account for, but killing any of those people is not one of them."
And I can support Ben Salmon, a Catholic conscientious objector during World War One, who wrote in a letter to President Wilson " Regardless of nationality, all men are brothers. God is 'Our Father Who Art in Heaven.' ....The lowly Nazarene taught us the doctrine of non-resistance, and so convinced was he of the soundness of that doctrine that he sealed his belief with death on the cross....Conscience, my infallible guide, impels me to tell you that prison, death, or both are infinitely preferable to joining any branch of the army."
Through trusting in God with all their hearts to help them make the right decisions and courageously following their consciences, both these men - and all sincere warriors and pacifists - are justified in God's eyes and carry out His mysterious Will for their lives - and the world's life.