Three U.S. Catholic Cardinals Call for a Moral Reset of American Foreign Policy

Overview

• Cardinals Blase Cupich, Robert McElroy, and Joseph Tobin issued a rare joint statement urging that military action be used only as a last resort.
• Their statement cites the U.S. operation in Venezuela that seized Nicolás Maduro, threats to acquire Greenland, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and steep cuts to foreign aid as moral flashpoints.
• The text draws heavily from Pope Leo XIV’s Jan. 9 address condemning diplomacy by force and warning that post–World War II norms are being undermined.
• Although the cardinals did not name President Donald Trump, multiple reports framed the message as a critique of his administration, and the White House offered no immediate comment.
• The intervention was described as unusual for U.S. Catholic leadership, and responses from American Catholics ranged from strong support to doubts about its effect.