Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church

The Church's social teaching proposes the goal of “general, balanced and controlled disarmament”.^{1067John Paul II, Message for the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations (14 October 1985), 6: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 14 November 1985, p. 4.} The enormous increase in arms represents a grave threat to stability and peace. The principle of sufficiency, by virtue of which each State may possess only the means necessary for its legitimate defence, must be applied both by States that buy arms and by those that produce and furnish them.^{1068Cf. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, The International Arms Trade. An ethical reflection (1 May 1994), ch. 1, 9-11, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City 1994, p. 14.} Any excessive stockpiling or indiscriminate trading in arms cannot be morally justified. Such phenomena must also be evaluated in light of international norms regarding the non-proliferation, production, trade and use of different types of arms. Arms can never be treated like other goods exchanged on international or domestic markets.^{1069Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2316; John Paul II, Address to the World of Work, Verona, Italy (17 April 1988), 6: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, XI, 1 (1988), 940.} Moreover, the Magisterium has made a moral evaluation of the phenomenon of deterrence. “The accumulation of arms strikes many as a paradoxically suitable way of deterring potential adversaries from war. They see it as the most effective means of ensuring peace among nations. This method of deterrence gives rise to strong moral reservations. The arms race does not ensure peace. Far from eliminating the causes of war, it risks aggravating them”.^{1070Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2315.} Policies of nuclear deterrence, typical of the Cold War period, must be replaced with concrete measures of disarmament based on dialogue and multilateral negotiations.

Arms of mass destruction — whether biological, chemical or nuclear — represent a particularly serious threat. Those who possess them have an enormous responsibility before God and all of humanity.^{1071Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 80: AAS 58 (1966), 1104; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2314; John Paul II, Message for the 1986 World Day of Peace, 2: AAS 78 (1986), 280.} The principle of the non-proliferation of nuclear arms, together with measures of nuclear disarmament and the prohibition of nuclear tests, are intimately interconnected objectives that must be met as soon as possible by means of effective controls at the international level.^{1072Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Diplomatic Corps (13 January 1996), 7: L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 17 January 1996, p. 2.} The ban on the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical and biological weapons as well as the provisions that require their destruction, complete the international regulatory norms aimed at banning such baleful weapons,^{1073The Holy See is a party to juridical instruments dealing with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in order to support such initiatives of the international community.} the use of which is explicitly condemned by the Magisterium: “Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and man himself. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation”.^{1074Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 80: AAS 58 (1966), 1104.}

Disarmament must include the banning of weapons that inflict excessively traumatic injury or that strike indiscriminately. This includes anti- personnel landmines, a type of small arm that is inhumanly insidious because it continues to cause harm even long after the cessation of hostilities. States that produce them, sell them and continue to use them are responsible for seriously delaying the total elimination of these death-dealing weapons.^{1075Cf. John Paul II, Message for the 1999 World Day of Peace, 11: AAS 91 (1999), 385-386.} The international community must continue its committed efforts aimed at mine-clearance, fostering effective cooperation — including education and technical training — with those countries that do not have adequate means to clear their territory of mines with all due urgency and that are not able to offer the necessary assistance to victims of mines.

Appropriate measures are needed to control the production, sale, importation and exportation of small arms and light weapons, armaments that facilitate many outbreaks of violence to occur. The sale and trafficking of such weapons constitute a serious threat to peace: these arms kill and are used for the most part in internal and regional conflicts; their ready availability increases both the risk of new conflicts and the intensity of those already underway. The position of States that apply severe controls on the international transfer of heavy arms while they never, or only very rarely, restrict the sale and trafficking of small arms and light weapons is an unacceptable contradiction. It is indispensable and urgent that Governments adopt appropriate measures to control the production, stockpiling, sale and trafficking of such arms ^{1076Cf. John Paul II, Message for the 1999 World Day of Peace, 11: AAS 91 (1999), 385-386.} in order to stop their growing proliferation, in large part among groups of combatants that are not part of the military forces of a State.

The use of children and adolescents as soldiers in armed conflicts — despite the fact that their young age should bar them from being recruited —must be condemned. Obliged by force to take part in combat or choosing to do so on their own initiative without being fully aware of the consequences, these children are not only deprived of an education and a normal childhood, they are also trained to kill. This constitutes an intolerable crime. The use of child soldiers in combat forces of any kind must be stopped and, at the same time, every possible assistance must be given to the care, education and rehabilitation of those children who have been involved in combat^{1077Cf. John Paul II, Message for the 1999 World Day of Peace, 11: AAS 91 (1999), 385-386.}.