Can the Pope be political?
And a bit of just war theory
As the resident “Catholic adjacent” on the pastor team, I have really enjoyed watching the first American Pope, Leo XIV, in his first year. It is fun to see an important person who feels local to you. I’m not from Chicago, but his North American easiness and candor is refreshing. Like his predecessor, Francis, he spent much of his ministry in South America, and is drenched in liberation theology. This puts the fate of the poor at the forefront of his faith and preaching, protecting the most vulnerable as the first priority.
In the past week, President Donald Trump has been complaining about Pope Leo’s statements on the war in Iran. Pope Leo called the war a “delusion of omnipotence” and continues to demand an immediate ceasefire. I am not going to repeat Trump’s response. I am more interested in whether or not the Pope has a point to make and if he is in the position to make it. In both cases, I say yes.
I cannot by any stretch call myself a Catholic theologian, but it has been a relief to me to see that I clearly know more about Catholic theology than Vice President JD Vance. In his latest post, Vance suggests Pope Leo did not know of a thousand year tradition of just war theory. Which is laughable. Pope Leo has been a member of the Order of Saint Augustine for almost 50 years. As Vance should know, Augustine (354-430 CD) was the first Christian philosopher to advocate for such a framework, although it appears in earlier Egyptian and Indian writings as well. Basically, a so-called just war is one that begins with a “just cause” and one in which the aggressor conducts themselves “justly”. However, that is as specific as it gets. There are many, many interpretations of what is a “just cause.” When it comes to the conduct during war, the Geneva conventions are the best collection of universal prescriptions of how to act justly in war, primarily in the protection of civilian lives and infrastructure as well as avoiding the destruction of historic and culturally significant sites.
The wide open question that Leo and Vance are addressing is whether this war has a just cause. Generally, the philosophers and Augustine would say a “just cause” is the preservation or restoration of peace. Which leads to some great questions to pose to your friends over coffee (or book a time with me!): What is peace? Merely the absence of conflict? Does it include justice? For whom?
Anyone can say anything about a war that they want. As the head of a church and the head of a state (Vatican City), Pope Leo’s message is consistent with the comments of Pope Francis and even Pope Benedict XVI, based in hundreds of years of theology on war*; that wars are not something anyone should be quick to start or slow to end. My hunch is the offence he has caused is not because he is Pope but because he is American.
The best coffee conversation (or YouTube rabbit hole) can begin with the question, “Is there such a thing as a just war?” My conclusion: Just because a war is justifiable, doesn’t mean it is just. What do you think?
*It has to be said the Vatican did not act justly in the face of the Holocaust, remaining silent as an act of diplomacy with the Nazi regime in order to protect Catholic institutions.
