Abstract When studying religious narratives of war, what is not said can be more revealing than what is said. If a powerful international and transnational actor such as the Roman Catholic Church is criticized for not condemning Russia as aggressor in the Ukraine War, what implications can this have for the international society? By combining an English School framework with an analytical concept of silence, this article examines the Catholic Church’s narrative of the Ukraine War in an international political as well as a transnational religious context. The first aim is to discern whether the Catholic Church reveals a pattern of silence in regard to the Ukraine War. The second aim is to establish what consequences such a pattern of silence would have for the institution of international law as a foundational primary institution of international society. Remaining silent on violations of international law can create ambiguity and could ultimately lead to a weakening and even erosion of the foundations of international society.
Katharina McLarren (Fri,) studied this question.