Three senior U.S. Catholic cardinals issued a rare joint statement Monday urging the Trump administration to inject morality into its foreign policy, warning that recent military action in Venezuela, threats to seize Greenland and deep cuts to foreign aid risk unleashing widespread suffering rather than fostering global peace.
At a Glance
- Cardinals Cupich, McElroy and Tobin say U.S. foreign policy lacks moral vision
- They cite Venezuela incursion, Greenland threats and aid cuts as evidence
- Statement piggybacks on Pope Leo XIV’s Jan. 9 critique of force-based diplomacy
- White House offered no immediate response to News Of Philadelphia
Why it matters: The church’s most prominent progressive voices are challenging the administration’s worldview at a moment when military options are openly discussed for multiple flashpoints.
The statement, signed by Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington and Joseph Tobin of Newark, N.J., argues that Washington’s current debate is trapped in “polarization, partisanship, and narrow economic and social interests” and lacks any ethical compass.
“Most of the United States and the world are adrift morally in terms of foreign policy,” McElroy told Emily Carter Reynolds. “I still believe the United States has a tremendous impact upon the world.”
The move is the second time in two months that America’s Catholic hierarchy has publicly pushed back against Trump policies. In November the entire U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned mass deportations and what they called the “vilification” of migrants.
Pope’s speech provided the language
The cardinals anchored their message in Pope Leo XIV’s major foreign-policy address to diplomats on Jan. 9. The first U.S.-born pontiff delivered the speech almost entirely in English and, while never naming nations, warned that reliance on force to assert global dominance is “completely undermining” peace and the post-World War II legal order.
Leo’s remarks landed days after a U.S. military incursion into Venezuela aimed at removing Nicolás Maduro, and amid ongoing U.S. threats to acquire Greenland as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was consulted on the statement. Archbishop Paul Coakley, the conference president, “supports the emphasis placed by the cardinals on Pope Leo’s teaching in these times,” spokesperson Chieko Noguchi said.
Rejecting ‘might makes right’
The cardinals singled out three flashpoints:
- Venezuela – They questioned the precedent of a unilateral U.S. raid to arrest a foreign leader.
- Greenland – They warned against threatening allies over territory.
- Foreign-aid cuts – They said slashing USAID programs harms the world’s poorest.
“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,” they wrote.
The statement insists military action must be “a last resort in extreme situations, not a normal instrument of national policy,” and calls for foreign policy that advances “human life, religious liberty, and the enhancement of human dignity … especially through economic assistance.”
Tobin, who ministered in more than 70 countries as a Redemptorist priest, said U.S. philanthropy makes an outsized difference on hunger and health. “It can’t be that my prosperity is predicated on inhuman treatment of others,” he told Emily Carter Reynolds. “The real argument isn’t just my right or individual rights, but what is the common good.”
Action followed Vatican alarm
Cupich and McElroy told Emily Carter Reynolds that fellow cardinals voiced alarm over U.S. actions during a Jan. 7-8 Vatican meeting. When Leo delivered his 45-minute speech the next day, the Americans found the language they needed.
“We could piggyback on that,” Cupich said, adding that Maduro’s prosecution could be seen as positive but not via a military incursion into a sovereign state.
“When we go ahead and do it in such a way that is portrayed as saying, ‘Because we can do it, we’re going to do it, that might makes right’ – that’s a troublesome development,” Cupich said. “There’s the rule of law that should be followed.”
Trump has defended the Venezuela operation as legal and argues Greenland is vital for U.S. security. His administration also gutted USAID, arguing its projects advance a liberal agenda.
Goal is moral reset, not partisan fight
All three cardinals stressed their aim is not partisan. “We’re not endorsing a political party or a political movement,” Tobin said. He urged Catholics and “all people of good will” to advocate for “basic human decency.”
The White House did not respond Monday to a request for comment from News Of Philadelphia.
Key Takeaways
- Senior Catholic leaders are openly challenging the administration’s foreign-policy ethic
- They cite recent military action, territorial threats and aid cuts as evidence of moral drift
- Statement amplifies Pope Leo XIV’s warning that force-based diplomacy undermines global peace
- Cardinals frame debate around common good, not party politics
