Section — Noldin, Summa of Moral Theology
Section 5. On Damaging Because of Injured Law of Military Service
475. Because of refused military service. 1. Those who by illicit means, for example, lies, feigned diseases, mutilation, withdraw themselves from military service, even with the obligation of the law in conscience supposed, a. certainly do not act against commutative justice nor are they bound to restitution where all are called to military service: for they injure the rights of no one: not of society, which obligates to military service only from legal justice; not of others, who suffer no damage from this manner of acting. b. But neither are they bound to restitution where only a determined number are assumed for military service, whether they withdraw before or after the drawing of lots, because their manner of acting toward those who are called in their place is neither unjust nor efficacious of damage.
It is not unjust, because they are bound to serve as soldiers only from legal justice and therefore they are not bound by a strict obligation of justice to impede the damages of others; nor do others have a right of remaining immune from military service. It is not efficacious of damage: for the manner of acting of the youths is the occasion, and the law of conscription is the cause, why others are assumed in their place.
- Those who corrupt physicians or other officials by money or other gifts so that they are declared unfit by them, although they labor under no defect, act against commutative justice equally as the physicians and officials do, and are bound to restitution, not indeed toward the republic, which suffers no damage, but toward those who are called to military service in their place. For since physicians and other officials, by force of their office, are bound to choose those fit while rejecting only those unfit, all have a strict right of demanding from them that they perform their office rightly.
a. Those who corrupt physicians: for those who strive only to win their benevolence for themselves, so that in doubt concerning fitness they may pronounce sentence in their favor, do not act illicitly.
b. Against the common opinion of others Lehmkuhl (n. 888) raises a doubt whether physicians and officials are bound from commutative justice or from legal justice to discharge their office rightly, that is, according to the laws. He who judges this opinion probable, and likewise he who probably thinks the law of conscription unjust, can excuse youths who corrupt and corrupted physicians from the obligation of restoring toward the substituted soldier.
c. If those who by ecclesiastical (divine) or natural law are exempt from military service (n. 319) use frauds or corrupt physicians so that they may be declared unfit for military service, they are not bound to restitution, because they pursue their right; but they sin insofar as they do this by illicit means.
d. They are not bound to restitution toward the republic, not even in the case of universal conscription. For although the republic has a strict right of demanding from physicians that they assume for military service all youths who are not unfit, nevertheless neither is there question of grave matter nor does the republic suffer true damage because among so many one or another is unduly exempted. From this it also happens that they are not accustomed to interpret this office so rigorously as other public offices.
- He who, after receiving payment, serves in the military for another and deserts from military service, is bound to restitution toward him from whom he had received the price, if this one is forced either himself to undergo military service or to hire another.
If he who had hired the deserter suffers no damage, the deserter cannot be obligated to restitution: for he who had hired the deserter can demand nothing else except that he himself be free from the military burden, not that another truly serve as soldier for him.