The Peace People

News - Just War Theory Challenged

02 April 2005

Mairead Corrigan Maguire challenged the "Just War Theory" at the annual St Bronagh's address in Rostrevor, Co Down last night (Friday, 1st April 2005). She had been invited as the main speaker to mark the St Bronagh's Day (2nd April) event by Canon Dermot Johnson.

Mairead described in great detail the tragic events that led to the beginnings of the Peace People in 1976 and referred in passing to some of the highs and lows in the intervening years, including her three arrests in the USA for opposing war and nuclear armaments.

She averred that she did not accept the theory of the just war and her objections to the theory went back many years. She had read and studied the justifications for the theory and, for her, they did not hold up.

She spoke passionately about the proliferation of nuclear arms and praised Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli whistle-blower who spent 18 years in prison, nearly twelve of them in solitary confinement. She asked the local church in Rostrevor to ring the bell on April 6th when Mordechai is again being indicted by the Israeli government for having broken his release conditions by speaking to the press and attempting to visit Bethlehem on Christmas Eve last (2004).

On the night that Pope John Paul II had been pronounced by the Vatican to be on the verge of death, Mairead recalled an historic 30 minute private interview the Pontiff had granted to herself and Betty Williams in the early days of the Peace People when, incidentally, they had invited him to visit Northern Ireland - an invitation he had been eager to accept. Pope John Paul II had invited the Laureates to ask him whatever they wanted to ask - and among the questions was that of the just war theory. Mairead had pre-empted his reply by telling him that they opposed the idea.

Singer-song composer Thomas Sands entertained the audience to most enjoyable hour-long performance.

Canon Johnson in thanking Mairead referred to her as a prophet. In a touching ecumenical gesture, he asked those present to join him in a silent moment of prayer for the ailing Pope.