‘Just war’ has guided Catholic thinking on conflict for centuries – including criticism of Iran war
Catholic leaders say the conflict fails just war standards as civilians are killed and diplomacy gives way to military action, officials and church figures say.
- A growing choir of Catholic voices is criticizing the Iran war by invoking "just war," a 1,500-year-old Christian tradition, despite U.S. Vice President Vance dismissing some comments from Pope Leo XIV.
- Roots of this tradition trace to fifth-century theologian Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, who established criteria like authority and intention; the 16th-century scholar Francisco de Vitoria argued the common good, not a leader's personal gain, must motivate war.
- The conflict has displaced an estimated 3 million Iranians and killed more than 1,600 civilians, including more than 200 children; the President told the Financial Times in March his "favorite thing is to take the oil in Iran."
- Pope Leo XIV frequently called for peace, cautioning that a "delusion of omnipotence" makes military force seem preferable to diplomacy, while State Marco Rubio justified the conflict as preemptive defense despite Pentagon briefers questioning the imminence of threats.
- International law and the United Nations charter generally limit the use of force to self-defense, while constitutional debates regarding presidential authority persist as the War Powers Resolution requires congressional authorization for force lasting more than 60 days.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Analysis: 'Just war' has guided Catholic thinking on conflict for centuries – including criticism of Iran war
A growing choir of Catholic voices has criticized the Iran conflict by invoking the concept of “just war” – an evolving tradition that has guided Christian thinking about war and peace for 1,500 years.
The Conversation
‘Just war’ has guided Catholic thinking on conflict for centuries – including criticism of Iran war
Since the beginning of the Iran war, Pope Leo XIV has frequently called for peace, cautioning that the “delusion of omnipotence” makes military force seem preferable to diplomacy. Although U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, criticized some of the pope’s comments, a growing choir of Catholic voices has criticized the conflict by invoking the concept of “just war” – an evolving tradition that has guided Christian thinking about war and peac…
Iran War and the Return of Crusade Rhetoric
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