Pope Leo XIV presented his first encyclical on Monday, labelling the United States’ idea of a “just war” as “outdated” and warned that “humanity is slipping into a violent culture of power”.
“Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated,” he wrote in his encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity).
Pope Leo further added, “Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness.”
The head of the Catholic Church has been highly critical of the war in West Asia that began with a joint military operation by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28. He called Trump’s threats against the Islamic Republic “truly unacceptable” and encouraged Americans to demand that U.S lawmakers “work for peace”.
Trump did not respond kindly to the Pope’s criticism, describing him as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy”. The Pope replied that he had a “moral duty to speak out”.
The Trump administration continues to claim that its attack on Iran was justified to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapons capability. U.S Vice President J.D Vance has also used the “just war” argument and told the Pope to be “careful” on theological matters.
In his manifesto, the Pope also spoke strongly against the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), calling for stricter regulation due to its role in spreading misinformation. He urged governments to “disarm” AI and be guided by the common good rather than the power of profit.
“Artificial Intelligence now demands to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion, and death,” he wrote.
Pope Leo also issued an apology for the Vatican’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and called it “a wound in Christian memory”.
