War is never moral. It is not ordered to the good. But the Church through the centuries has taught that when faced with war, or the prospect of war, we must think carefully and morally — prudence first. So, is a war that pits a broad Western alliance against Russian aggression in Ukraine a just war?

New Democrat MP Paul Dewar flushed with surprise when asked whether, as someone raised Catholic, he considers Canada’s involvement in the bombing of ISIL terrorists to qualify as a just war.