Amid rising tensions surrounding US foreign policy, three American Cardinals have released a joint statement which questions the moral foundations and legitimacy of the current US administration's approach for foreign affairs.
The three Cardinals—Blase Cupich, Robert McElroy, and Joseph Tobin—are also the archbishops of Chicago, Washington DC, and Newark, respectively.
After raising their concerns, the Cardinals then cite a quote from Pope Leo's recent address to the diplomatic corp accredited to the Holy See, which was given on January 9.
POPE LEO XIV
In our time, the weakness of multilateralism is a particular cause for concern at the international level. 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. 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. Peace is no longer sought as a gift and desirable good in itself, or in pursuit of “the establishment of the ordered universe willed by God with a more perfect form of justice among men and women.” Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion.
The Cardinals propose that the Pope's vision offers “an enduring ethical compass” for US foreign policy moving forward. They conclude the statement by declaring their intent to promote that vision in their preaching and advocacy.
The statement, which was published on January 19, was not released through the USCCB but as a joint publication under each of the Cardinal's archdiocese.
