Three senior Catholic leaders in the United States have publicly questioned the moral direction of American foreign policy. They warned that military force should remain a last resort.
In a rare joint statement, Cardinals Blaise Cupich, Robert McElroy, and Joseph Tobin said the United States faces its most serious ethical debate on global action since the Cold War.
The archbishops said America’s moral leadership now stands under scrutiny. They stressed that the use of force must serve peace, not narrow national interests.
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Cardinal Robert McElroy, and Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin today issued a strongly worded statement measuring U.S. foreign policy against the principles set forth by Pope Leo XIV in his Jan. 9, 2026 address. https://t.co/Gs0GhlXHcs
— Newark Archdiocese (@NwkArchdiocese) January 19, 2026Their statement echoed recent remarks by Pope Leo XIV, who condemned what he described as a growing global appetite for war. The pope has previously criticised several US policies, including immigration measures.
The clerics pointed to recent developments in Venezuela, the war in Ukraine, and tensions over Greenland. They said these events have weakened respect for national sovereignty and self-determination.
“These cases raise fundamental questions about peace and the use of force,” the statement said. The cardinals avoided naming US President Donald Trump directly.
The archbishops called for a genuinely moral foreign policy. They said war must never become a routine tool of statecraft. Military action, they added, should occur only in extreme and unavoidable situations.
The White House did not issue an immediate response to the statement.
