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Three U.S. Catholic cardinals urge Trump administration to use moral compass, saying U.S. military action in Venezuela threatens Acquisition of Greenland Cutting foreign aid could cause great suffering rather than promote peace.
Blas Cupich of the Chicago Cardinals, Robert McElroy of Washington State and Joseph Tobin of Newark, N.J., warn that without a moral vision, the current debate over Washington foreign policy Caught in “polarization, partisanship, and narrow economic and social interests.”
“The United States and most of the world are morally off track in terms of foreign policy,” McElroy told reporters. Associated Press. “I still believe America has a huge impact on the world.”
Monday’s unusual joint statement marks the second time in as many months that top members of the U.S. Catholic Church have spoken out against the Trump administration, which many say has failed to uphold basic principles of human dignity.
In November, the entire United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Condemn the government for mass deportations of immigrants and their “slander” in public discourse.
The three cardinals, prominent figures in the more progressive wing of the American church, took as their starting point Pope Leo XIV’s key foreign policy address on January 9 to the nuncio to the Holy See in Rome.
The speech, delivered almost entirely in English, was Leo’s most substantive criticism of American foreign policy.
The first American-born pope in history has condemned how countries use force to assert their dominance around the world, “totally undermining” peace and the post-World War II international legal order.
Leo did not name individual countries, but his remarks came against the backdrop of recent military action in Venezuela to oust Nicolás Maduro, with the United States threatening to take action Greenland and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Cardinal questions use of force
In their statement, the three cardinals cited Venezuela, Greenland and Ukraine, saying they “raise fundamental questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace,” as well as the U.S. president’s decision to cut foreign aid. Donald TrumpThe government launched it last year.
“Our nation’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, upholding the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious freedom is being tested,” they warned.
“We renounce war as an instrument of narrow national interests and declare that military action should be considered only as a last resort in extreme circumstances and not as a normal instrument of national policy,” they wrote. “We seek a foreign policy that respects and promotes the human right to life, religious freedom and the enhancement of human dignity throughout the world, especially through economic assistance.”
Tobin described the moral compass the cardinals want the United States to use around the world.
“My prosperity cannot be based on inhumane treatment of others,” he told me Associated Press. “The real debate is not just about my rights or individual rights, but what is the common good.”
Cardinals expand on their statement
Cupich and McElroy said in interviews that the signatories were inspired to issue a statement after hearing from several fellow cardinals during a meeting at the Vatican on Jan. 7-8. Cupich said other cardinals have expressed alarm at U.S. actions in Venezuela, cuts in foreign aid and threats to acquire Greenland.
A day later, Leo spoke for nearly 45 minutes to the diplomatic corps, giving Americans the language they needed to “take advantage” of the pope’s words, Cupich said.
Cupich acknowledged that the prosecution of Maduro can be viewed positively, but not in the same way as a U.S. military invasion of a sovereign nation.
“When we go ahead and do it in a way that’s framed as ‘because we can do it, we’ll do it and it might be right’ – that’s a troubling development,” he said. “The rule of law should be followed.”
Trump insists the arrest of Maduro is legal. On Greenland, Trump has repeatedly said the United States needs to control the resource-rich island, a semi-autonomous region of NATO ally Denmark. for its national security.
The Trump administration harshly criticized USAID last year, saying its programs advance a liberal agenda and are a waste of money.
Tobin, who has preached in more than 70 countries as a Redeemer priest and the organization’s top general, lamented the decline in USAID aid and said American philanthropy plays a huge role in everything from hunger to health.
The three cardinals said their main purpose was not to criticize the government but to encourage the United States to regain its moral standing in the world by pursuing a foreign policy guided by morality and pursuing the common good.
“We do not support a political party or political movement,” Tobin said. Churchgoers and all good people have a role to play, he said.
“They can make arguments about basic human decency,” he said.