‘Without justice’, wrote Augustine in City of God, ‘what are kingdoms but great bands of criminals?’
Recently the Vatican representative to the United Nations, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, reminded the General Assembly with these ancient words from the church father, adding that ‘no individual or group, regardless of his or her status, should claim the authority to violate the dignity and rights of others or of their communities.
‘Therefore, the principles of equality before the law, accountability, the equitable application of the law, the separation of powers, legal certainty, due process, the prevention of arbitrariness, as well as transparency in both procedural and legal matters, must always be observed.’
A timely reminder! For last week’s US-Russian proposal to end the war in Ukraine through territorial concessions does not even pretend to aim at justice. It does smack of ‘bands of criminals’ seeking transactional rare mineral deals for self-enrichment. For why would America now want to be aligned with what former administrations have called ‘the axis of evil’?
Justice is not an optional virtue. It’s the very foundation of legitimate peace. When powerful actors propose ending a war by requiring the victim to surrender land seized violently, moral issues are raised. America is losing much trust and credibility. A joke circulating in Ukraine right now is: why is it that, in a war unleashed upon Ukraine by Russia, America is the first to surrender?
Shameful
Gallagher continued by quoting Pope Leo XIV: ‘it is troubling to see that the force of international law and humanitarian law seems no longer to be binding, replaced by the alleged right of the stronger to impose themselves without limits. This is unworthy of our humanity, shameful for all mankind and for the leaders of nations. After centuries of history, how can anyone believe that acts of war bring about peace and not backfire on those who commit them?’
Justice is central to God’s character and to human flourishing. ‘Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne’ (Psalm 89:14). Isaiah insists that true peace cannot exist without justice: “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever” (Isaiah 32:17). Scripture repeatedly warns against false peace built on the oppression of the vulnerable: “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).
Another timely reminder is the Russell Crowe film on the Nuremberg Tribunal currently in our cinemas. It is a chilling reminder that dangerous ideologies and authoritarianism can thrive under the veneer of ‘normalcy’. Modern America – where so many ideas previously thought to be outrageous have been normalised under the current administration – is certainly not exempt.
Appeasement
Ukrainians have pointed out to me that the present conflict can be traced to the failure of the free world to demand that post-Soviet Russia condemn fully the crimes of the communist period; the new Russian rulers should have been required to ensure purification of their state from the consequences of totalitarianism. The swamp was never drained. While West Germany went through the painful process of purification through Nuremberg, the Soviet Union – the other totalitarian monster – was not only not held accountable but provided one of the four tribunal judges! Ecclesiastes warns (8:11) that ‘when the sentence of an evil deed is not promptly executed, the human heart is filled with the desire to commit evil.’ Unchecked, the Soviet Union conquered the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Appeasement only emboldens the aggressor. Can a peace plan that rewards territorial conquest—achieved through invasion, atrocities, mass deportations, and systematic destruction—ever constitute genuine peace? The short-sighted Russian-American proposal – in some circles dubbed the ‘Dim-Wit proposal’ after the apparent authors Dmitrov K. [Russian] and S. Witkoff [American] – can only lead to more violence and injustice sooner or later.
Land theft is a violation of justice that God explicitly condemns: “Woe to those who… seize fields and houses, and take them away” (Micah 2:1–2). Scripture is very direct about the responsibility of governments to pursue justice. Moses in Deuteronomy 16:20 relays God’s command: ‘Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue’. The prophet Micah warned leaders ‘who despise justice and distort all that is right”’ (3:1-13). More bluntly he wrote: ‘Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly’ (6:8). Amos too wrote: ‘maintain justice in the courts’ (5:15), and ‘let justice roll down like waters’ (5:24).
Lasting peace cannot be built on injustice. As tempting as quick solutions may be, any peace plan that rewards aggression, nullifies sovereignty, or ignores accountability would be what Jeremiah called a false healing.
Without justice, peace is a façade. Global security becomes a contest of force rather than law. Real peace for Ukraine—indeed, for any nation—must be rooted in truth, dignity, accountability, and justice, the very foundations of God’s own throne.
Till next week,
