The Pope Stumbles Over Gaza

I have the greatest respect for Pope Benedict XVI, but he was apparently having an off-day today when he spoke to  assembled diplomats accredited to the Vatican. According to the Times of London:

The Pope today condemned the use of violence by both Israel and Hamas in his annual speech to diplomats accredited to the Holy See. “Once again I would repeat that military options are no solution and that violence, wherever it comes from and whatever form it takes, must be firmly condemned,” he said in an even-handed address.

He rejected “hatred, acts of provocation and the use of arms” and deplored the renewed outbreak of violence in Gaza which was “provoking immense damage and suffering for the civilian population”.

That second paragraph is right and true. But the first is extraordinary for the Pope in its lack of nuance. “Military options are no solution”? Ever? Just in Israel’s case? Just in this situation? But if so, why not? And is it really true, from the standpoint of Catholic just-war doctrine, that “violence, wherever it comes from and whatever form it takes, must be firmly condemned”? That kind of absolutism is more typical of the historic peace churches like the Quakers and Mennonites than of Rome. Or, again, is he just referring to this situation? And if so, why? Is Israel really not permitted to respond with force to violent attacks on its citizens?

The Pope is not alone in seeking to bring peace. Statements like this, regardless of their intention, are not likely to help bring that about.