Top U.S. Catholic Cardinals Question Moral Integrity of Government

Three U.S. Catholic archbishops from Chicago, Washington D.C and Newark New Jersey, released a joint statement over the direction of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, stating that military campaigns must only be utilized as a last effort while also questioning the nature of the US.’s “moral role in confronting evil around the world.”

“In 2026, the United States has entered into the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War,” Cardinal Cupich of Chicago, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, and Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin decried in their statement.

The statement shares sentiments expressed by Pope Leo XIV during his Vatican speech in early January which condemned the world’s “zeal for war.” Leo XIV, the first American pope, has previously denounced the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

The bishops referred to the Trump administration’s actions towards Venezuela, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the most recent threat to place a 10% tariff on Greenland, which President Donald Trump made recently.

“The events in Venezuela, Ukraine, and Greenland have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace,” the clerics stated.

“The sovereign rights of nations to self-determination appear all too fragile in a world of ever greater conflagrations. And the building of just and sustainable peace, so crucial to humanity’s well-being now and in the future, is being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies.” The bishops added.

The joint statement does not explicitly mention President Trump and marks the second time in recent months that U.S. Catholic structure has commented against the Trump administration.

In November, the U.S. conference of Catholic bishops denounced the mass immigration crackdowns and “vilification” of migrants through public statements.

Earlier in January, Pope Leo XIV addressed Trump’s foreign policy at a reunion of global ambassadors, stating that the “principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined.”

The White House has not yet responded to the statement.