Three of the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic cardinals issued a rare joint statement on Monday criticizing the direction of American foreign policy as overly reliant on military force, citing recent U.S. actions including the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and President Donald Trump’s expressed interest in acquiring Greenland.
Cardinals Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, Robert W. McElroy of Washington, D.C., and Joseph W. Tobin of Newark released the statement, titled Charting A Moral Vision of American Foreign Policy, in which they referenced remarks made by Pope Leo XIV to the Vatican diplomatic corps on Jan. 9.
The pope stated: “A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.” He added, “War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading. The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined.” The full address is available on the Vatican website.
The cardinals described the United States as having “entered into the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War.” They pointed to events in Venezuela, Ukraine, and Greenland as having “raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace,” as reported by The Hill.
On Jan. 3, U.S. forces conducted an operation that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who face U.S. charges related to narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. Trump announced the U.S. would administer Venezuela temporarily until a transition could occur.
Trump has also repeatedly expressed interest in U.S. control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, stating the world is not secure without “Complete and Total Control” of the island. He has threatened tariffs on several European nations opposing the move and declined to rule out the use of force.
Top U.S. Catholic clerics said that the U.S.'s “moral role in confronting evil around the world” is in question for the first time in decades. https://t.co/cNxxzDYsm5
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 19, 2026
The cardinals noted Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine as another conflict that has prompted questions about military force, with reported deaths including roughly 15,000 Ukrainian civilians and hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides.
They wrote that “peace is no longer sought as a gift and desirable good in itself,” but “instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion.”
The statement affirmed Catholic teaching on the protection of human life, religious liberty, and human dignity, and called for military action to be viewed only as a last resort in extreme situations, not a normal instrument of national policy.
Cardinal Cupich commented: “As pastors entrusted with the teaching of our people, we cannot stand by while decisions are made that condemn millions to lives trapped permanently at the edge of existence. Pope Leo has given us clear direction and we must apply his teachings to the conduct of our nation and its leaders.”
Cardinal McElroy added: “Catholic social teaching testifies that when national interest narrowly conceived excludes the moral imperative of solidarity among nations and the dignity of the human person, it brings immense suffering to the world and a catastrophic assault on the just peace that benefits every nation and is the will of God.”
Cardinal Tobin stated: “Recent events, including participation in last week’s consistory in Rome with Pope Leo and brother cardinals from across the world, convince me of the need to underscore the vision of Pope Leo for just and peaceful relations among nations.”
The full statement is available on the Archdiocese of Washington website.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
