All of us, as Christians and citizens, have a responsibility to be peacemakers.

We need to be very careful though, as an academic community about how we define "peace." The University administration has consistently taken an extreme view that demands peace be interpreted as total pacifism, which is a marked departure from traditional Catholic teaching.

Today, Dr. Arun Gandhi will deliver the keynote Mission Week address. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Gandhi wrote, "I have often been asked what I would do if I was President of the United States … I would have gone to the United Nations as an equal member and sought world sympathy and support to deal with 'terrorists' in a humane way through dialogue rather than hunting them down."

Gandhi suggests we all hold hands with the terrorists and sing Kumbaya together. But we can not "dialogue" with terrorists. We can not reason with people who willingly fly airplanes into buildings full of civilians.

Moreover, Gandhi is just the most recent instance of a disturbing trend in University policy. Last semester, the Manresa Project brought in Fr. John Dear, S.J., who condemned the presence of ROTC at Marquette as a violation of Christ's teachings, which he maintained were absolutely pacifist.

Earlier this week, the administration chose to abruptly cancel an OSD-approved College Republicans "Support Our Troops" table, saying that the benefiting foundation "does not comport with the University's mission."

Catholic doctrine recognizes the need for "just wars" fought in self-defense and as a path to a more stable peace. The most recent example of this teaching came after 9/11, when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reiterated that the United States "has a moral right and a grave obligation to defend the common good against such terrorist acts."

So as Marquette considers what "peace" really means this week, let us remember that we live in a fallen world, where sin is loose and dark powers and principalities are at work. Faced with terrorism as the most recent expression of this evil, we would be wise to consider the words of the Holy Father's vicar for Rome, Camillo Cardinal Ruini: "We must not put in doubt the right, I say even the necessity and the right — to combat and neutralize wherever possible, international terrorism and all those, who, at whatever level, are its promoters and defenders."

As we pray for peace, let us also ask God to protect those who dedicate their lives to advancing freedom and peace by defending our nation.

Daniel Suhr is a junior political science major.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 3 2005.