Since the release of the movie, American Sniper, there has been a great deal of discussion about not only the movie itself, but also the moral issues one is confronted with in many of its scenes.

The film, which chronicles the true story of Chris Kyle, a U.S. Navy SEAL sniper who served four combat tours as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, leaves audiences with a very memorable and at times heart wrenching account of the toll that combat takes on our troops and the life and death decisions they are faced with.

Inevitably, it seems, one ends up asking questions like “What would I do if I was confronted with those same choices?” For us as Catholics, it might also tend to lead to ones like “What does the Church teach about that?”

Many of these questions really come down to two basic moral teachings: self-defense and the Just War Theory. Both teachings are very much connected. In fact, one grows out of, and expands upon the other.

In order to have the best understanding of their connection, for purposes here I will deal with each one separately. For this column I will give an overview regarding the Church’s teaching on self-defense. In my next column, I will look specifically at the Just War Theory.

The Church has long been very clear that a person has a right to defend himself or herself against unjust aggressors. If someone threatens my life or well-being, I have a natural right to defend myself. This right extends to those for whom I may be responsible, or even those that I may be able to help. So, for example, a parent has a right to defend a child or a person may intervene to help a neighbor being victimized.

The issue seems to become more difficult personally when that defense means using lethal force. Is it morally justifiable to defend myself if doing so results in the death of another? First and foremost, it is necessary to point out that the Church would say that the force used against an attacker be proportionate to the threat. Therefore, one is morally obligated to use only the force that one perceives is necessary to repel an attacker. One would not be morally justified in using deadly force if it was reasonable to believe that a lesser force would be completely adequate to stop the aggressor.

But what about those situations when someone believes that his or her own life, or the life of someone else, truly is at risk? We turn to St. John Paul II for the answer. In his 1995 Encyclical, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), he summarizes the Church’s teaching about this and the reasons for that teaching. Taking a portion from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2265), he says:

“Moreover, ‘legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or of the state.’ Unfortunately it happens that the need to render the aggressor incapable of causing harm sometimes involves taking his life. In this case, the fatal outcome is attributable to the aggressor whose action brought it about … .”

St. John Paul also says the following:

“… (T)he intrinsic value of life and the duty to love oneself no less than others are the basis for a true right to self-defense. The demanding commandment of love of neighbor, set forth in the Old Testament and confirmed by Jesus, itself presupposes love of self as the basis for comparison: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mk 12:31). Consequently, no one can renounce the right to self-defense out of lack of love for life or for self.”

Where does this leave us? It is a reminder that defending our life, or the lives of others, is morally justifiable even if it means that, unfortunately, a life is ended in the process.