This book offers a thorough and accessible analysis of Catholic teaching on war and warmaking from its earliest stages to the present. Moral theologians Thomas Massaro and Thomas A. Shannon begin with a survey of the teachings on war in various religions and denominations and then trace the development of Just War theory and application, review the perspective of several Catholic bishops, comment on the bishops' pastoral letter The Challenge of Peace, address contemporary developments in light of 9-11 and the United States war with Iraq, and conclude with theological reflections. Complete with recommended readings, Catholic Perspectives on Peace and War offers an informative and thoughtful moral analysis that helps readers navigate the rapidly changing terrain of war, warmaking, and peace initiatives.

Recommended. General readers; undergraduate and graduate students. * Choice Reviews *
If you want to know what the Catholic Church and its theologians have been saying about war and peace... you need look no further than this fine survey by Massaro and Shannon. * Cistercian Studies Quarterly *
A clear, concise treatment of Catholic teaching on violence and nonviolence...an excellent short course on the subject. * U.S. Catholic *
Catholic teaching on war and peace is changing as dramatically as the experience of war and violence across the globe. This book will give students, teachers, and anyone interested in the moral questions exploding with each day's news a clear, concise, and readable introduction to the issues and the options. For serious citizens, Christian or not, this summary is indispensable. -- David J. O'Brien, Loyola Professor of Roman Catholic Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Thomas A. Shannon is professor of religion and social ethics at Worcester Polytechnical Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, and the author of more than twenty books in the field of ethics, particularly medical ethics. He is the editor of a series of readers in bioethics for Sheed & Ward. Thomas Massaro, S.J., is assistant professor of moral theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology. He is the author of Catholic Social Teaching and United States Welfare Reform and Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action.