"Just War" or just war?

Trump's open feud with Pope Leo has brought the issue to the forefront

I literally cannot believe what we’re seeing right now. Trump and his MAGA minions absolutely freaking out because Pope Leo XIV did what all Popes do and condemned the illegal war that Trump began when he decided to start bombing Iran, ostensibly to stop them from obtaining a nuclear weapon, even though experts insisted they were nowhere close to succeeding.

And now his MAGA minions in Congress and Fox News have settled on the argument that this falls under the Catholic concept of the “Just War Theory”, which is the doctrine behind military ethics that guides nations to ensure when warfare is morally justifiable.

What is Just War Doctrine?

The concept of Just War can be traced back to Ancient Egypt, India, the Zhou Dynasty, as well as Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. The theory was first codified in Western thought by Saint Augustine of Hippo, whose philosophical writings in the 4th and 5th century AD formed the basis of Western Catholicism.

The theory outlines strict moral and ethical conditions for which military force is permissible, primarily for defensive and peace restoration purposes. Just War Doctrine is outlined in Catholic Church Cathechism 2309:

(2309) The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:

1. The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;

2. All other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;

3. There must be serious prospects of success;

4. The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

And in evaluating Trump’s aggression against Iran using these criteria, it becomes clear that this attack fails under Just War Doctrine.

1. Iran did not attack the US so there is no grave damage inflicted and Iran was not an aggressor, even though Trump insists they were and refers to their “47 year program of terrorism” as justification.

2. Iran had already negotiated an end to their nuclear weapons program under President Obama and this agreement was ripped up by Trump. However, Iran was willing to negotiate and Trump chose to remove the entire negotiating team from the face of the Earth, including their President.

3. There does not seem to be any chance of success with this war as there have not been any clear end goals stated other than “regime change”.

4. The destruction of civilian infrastructure and the high number of civilian casualties including over 150 children at the Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, Hormozgan province

Pope Leo weighs in

Given the failure of Trump’s war to follow Just War Doctrine, and after Pete Hegseth regularly invoked God in his Pentagon speeches, Pope Leo XIV, who originally comes from the south side of Chicago and is the first American-born Pope, decided to weigh in on the conflict by stating:

“God does not bless any conflict,” Leo wrote on X. “Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.”

“Military force will not result in peace or freedom — that comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.”

He did not mention President Donald Trump or other leaders by name in the post on X.

This, of course, enraged Trump, who lashed out against Pope Leo in a series of Truth Social rants that I will not include here out of respect for your emotional wellbeing. This caused the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine to issue the following statement:

“For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war. A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2308). That is, to be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said: ‘He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’

“When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ. The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of good will must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars.”

Trump’s sycophants such as Baby Catholic JD Vance also decided to weigh in on the subject, laughably suggesting that Trump knows more about theology than the Pope himself, and that the Pope should stay out of politics and stick to morality. You know, the usual “shut up and dribble” response you get from the Right whenever someone famous speaks out against them.

The Pope, it should be mentioned, belonged to the Augustinian Order of the Catholic Church and is an expert on Augustinian philosophy. I mean the freaking gall of these people, right?

Trump then did the unthinkable and posted an AI-generated image of himself wearing white and red robes, surrounded by loving sychophants, healing someone with his hands aglow. Most people with two braincells to rub together could clearly see this image as truly blasphemous as Jesus is often portrayed wearing red and white robes, as described in the Bible. After being called out on his blasphemy, Trump took the image down and then doubled down with an image of Jesus embracing Trump with a US flag in the background.

This, of course, led the Pope, who is on an 11 day tour of Africa, to issue his strongest and most forceful statement to date:

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo told a gathering at Saint Joseph Cathedral in the western city of Bamenda.

“They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.

“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters”

Furthermore:

“I do not see my role as that of a politician. I am not a politician and I do not want to enter a debate with him,” he said.

“I continue to speak strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems.”

The White House fights back

Never to let a slight against him pass, Trump has canceled an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities, whose work in Miami offers shelter to immigrant children without parents.

From The Guardian:

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami said the White House had pulled a longstanding $11m contract from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) for a program that provides specialized services for unaccompanied and undocumented minors who have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“The US government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship … and [the services] will be forced to shut down within three months,” Thomas Wenski, the archbishop of Miami, said in a statement to the newspaper.

“[The] services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a model for other agencies throughout the country. Our track record in serving this vulnerable population is unmatched.”

Just beyond malicious and petty.

This latest fight against the Pope does nothing to improve Trump’s polling among Catholics, and among Americans in general. In fact recent polling from Pew Research shows 70% of Americans believe Trump to not be religious while 24% say he is somewhat religious and only 5% believe him to be very religious.

This, despite Trump’s own Spiritual Advisor Paula White laughably claiming him to be a “very religious man” who attends church “three times per week” and can quote “so many sermons”.

American Catholics make up 20% of the voting electorate and are rapidly falling away due to Trump’s comments about the Pope and about the war in Iran, even though 59% voted for him in 2024.

From ABC News:

Trump's unapologetic and belligerent attitude toward Leo, the first American pope, and his now-removed social media post depicting himself as a Christ-like figure have been met with widespread criticism from Catholics on both sides of the aisle, according to Ryan Burge, a professor at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis.

"The majority of Catholics adore Leo and are appalled that anyone would go after him like this, especially with that meme," Burge, a former Baptist pastor who has researched voting trends for American religious groups, said of Trump's rhetoric.

Burge predicts Trump's words will have an impact on the midterm elections and beyond.

Trump is really proving himself to be his own worst enemy. Meanwhile US sailors and Marines are sending photos home of their meager rations as it appears the US Military failed to properly supply their ships prior to deployment to the Middle East. They also cannot receive the thousands of care packages that their loved ones are sending as USPS has suspended deliveries to a war zone.

Operation Epic Clusterfuck continues.

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