Where is Abel thy Brother? Reframing the Theological Horizons for Catholic Theories of Just War

This essay starts from a presupposition that there is need for rethinking the theological framework within which the Catholic Church has articulated its understanding of the principles and the application of the theory of just war in the social teaching it has proposed since the conclusion of World War II. While it may also be the case that the articulation of just war principles within other Christian theological traditions needs a similar re-framing, my primary concern is with the place it has occupied within Catholic moral and social teaching for the last sixty years. I will first provide a brief overview of the main considerations why such rethinking seems needed, but the main thrust of my argument is to outline the direction that such rethinking could take. I will also propose that an important outcome of such rethinking would be to provide a clear focus on the establishment of peace as the proper finality of a theologically informed just war theory