Members of a Vatican conference have called for the Catholic Church to renounce its "just war" theory.
Participants at a special conference also want Pope Francis to deliver a special teaching on non-violence and "just peace".
For centuries Church teaching has allowed for "just wars" - the use of force to stop an unjust aggression - as long as certain conditions are met.
However, participants at a conference sponsored by the Vatican's Justice and Peace office and Pax Christi, the Catholic peace movement, said it was unhappy with this doctrine.
The group said on Thursday that the doctrine has been used too often to justify and endorse military action rather than prevent it.
They called for the church instead to develop a new peace-making framework "consistent with Gospel non-violence" and for Francis to articulate it all in a new encyclical.
An encyclical describes a special letter teaching Catholic doctrine which is sent by the Pope addressed to bishops, patriarchs, primates, and archbishops who are in communion with the Holy See.
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Article by Hannah Tooley
Hannah Tooley is a multimedia journalist for Premier.
