Three prominent U.S. Catholic cardinals on Monday issued an unusually strong joint statement calling for a reorientation of American foreign policy, citing recent global events and Pope Leo XIV's address to diplomats this month as moral foundations for change, Vatican News reported.
Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago; Cardinal Robert McElroy, archbishop of Washington; and Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, wrote that the U.S. faces "the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America's actions in the world since the end of the Cold War," raising questions about how the nation wields military power and pursues peace.
While the statement stops short of prescribing detailed policy prescriptions, the cardinals' message is unambiguous: American engagement abroad must be guided by moral clarity and a commitment to peace, human dignity, and religious liberty, rather than power politics or economic self-interest.
They called for a "genuinely moral foreign policy for our nation," expressing their desire to build "a truly just and lasting peace," which Jesus proclaimed in the Gospel.
The statement did not directly name any U.S. administration but clearly reflects concern among senior church leaders about recent developments in Venezuela, which they said "raise basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of 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, not a normal instrument of national policy," the cardinals said.
They called for a foreign policy that "respects and advances the right to human life, religious liberty, and the enhancement of human dignity throughout the world."
The statement draws heavily on themes from the Pope's recent address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, where he lamented what he described as a global retreat from diplomacy and a rush toward militarized solutions to conflict.
"War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading," Leo told ambassadors in Rome, warning that the post-World War II principle barring nations from using force to violate others' borders "has been completely undermined" and that peace is increasingly sought through weapons rather than dialogue.
The American cardinals embraced that moral framework, emphasizing that rich nations have a duty to provide humanitarian aid and protect human dignity — including religious freedom and the right of conscience — in times of global tension.
The cardinals lamented that efforts to build "just and sustainable peace" have been overshadowed by partisanship, polarization, and policies they characterize as destructive, despite peace being vital to "the well-being of humanity."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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