Three American cardinals released a joint statement Jan. 19 urging the U.S. to ground its foreign policy in moral principles articulated by Pope Leo XIV and arguing that current strategies risk fueling global instability and war.
The statement, titled “Charting A Moral Vision of American Foreign Policy,” was signed by Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago; Cardinal Robert McElroy, archbishop of Washington, D.C.; and Cardinal Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R., archbishop of Newark, New Jersey. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) later highlighted the statement in a post on X.
The cardinals addressed what they described as the “most profound and searing debate” over the morality of U.S. foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. Conflicts involving Venezuela, Ukraine, and Greenland “have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace,” they stated.
“Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination,” the cardinals wrote. “And the building of just and sustainable peace, so crucial to humanity’s well-being now and in the future, is being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies.”
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Throughout the document, the cardinals repeatedly referenced Pope Leo’s Jan. 9 “State of the World” address to the Vatican diplomatic corps, which they said offers an “enduring ethical compass” for U.S. policy and a “moral foundation for international relations.”
In his speech, the Holy Father warned that interest in war appears to be growing.
“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 said. “War is back in vogue, and a zeal for war is spreading.”
The American cardinals grounded their critique of war and diplomacy in Pope Leo’s reference to the Catholic teaching that the right to life is the foundation of all human rights.
They said the Pontiff’s remarks highlighted the “need for international aid to safeguard the most central elements of human dignity, which are under assault because of the movement by wealthy nations to reduce or eliminate their contributions to humanitarian foreign assistance programs.”
Framing their appeal as an exhortation to moral and civic responsibility, the three cardinals called for a “genuinely moral foreign policy” that protects human life and promotes a “just and lasting peace.”
“We renounce war as an instrument for narrow national interests and proclaim that military action must be seen only as a last resort in extreme situations,” they wrote, “not a normal instrument of national policy.”
In conclusion, Cardinals Cupich, McElroy, and Tobin stated that they intend to engage in the national debate in the months ahead.
“Our nation’s debate on the moral foundation for American policy is beset by polarization, partisanship, and narrow economic and social interests,” they wrote. “Pope Leo has given us the prism through which to raise it to a much higher level. We will preach, teach, and advocate in the coming months to make that higher level possible.”
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