Catholic bishops across the Caribbean — joined in recent days by Pope Leo XIV — are issuing increasingly urgent calls for dialogue as military activity intensifies throughout the region, heightening fears of a broader conflict.
The Episcopal Conference of Puerto Rico (CEP) voiced “deep concern” over the surge in US military operations on the island and in surrounding waters, saying the build-up is already disrupting local economies, basic services, and fragile ecosystems.
The bishops warned that the region’s most vulnerable communities are “bearing the sharpest impact” as airports, fisheries, and coastal livelihoods experience strain.
Their statement aligns with the earlier alert from the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC), which represents dioceses across the English-, French-, and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.
In an October communiqué, the AEC described the rapid expansion of naval and air deployments — including U.S. strikes on alleged narcotrafficking vessels — as a matter of “grave concern,” noting that the presence of warships poses “real and immediate threats to regional stability and the welfare of our nations.”
Pope's words
Speaking to journalists aboard the papal flight on December 2, 2025, Pope Leo XIV urged the U.S. administration not to attempt the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by military force.
He answered a journalist by saying this:
Regarding Venezuela, at the level of the Bishops’ Conference and with the Nuncio, we are trying to find a way to calm the situation, seeking above all the good of the people, because in these situations it is the people who suffer, not the authorities.
The signals coming from the United States change, and so we must see… On the one hand, it seems there has been a telephone conversation between the two presidents; on the other hand, there is this danger, this possibility, that there could be an action, an operation, including an invasion of Venezuelan territory.
I again believe it is better to seek dialogue within this pressure, including economic pressure, but looking for another way to bring about change, if that is what the United States decides to do.
In his remarks, Leo XIV emphasized a theme consistent with recent papal teaching: War represents a breakdown of politics, not a solution to it. Popes consistently appeal for restraint and a renewed commitment to diplomacy, saying that political leaders must act with moral responsibility when addressing regional crises, and repeatedly reminding that ordinary people are the ones who suffer when political leaders make conflict.
People and the environment
Caribbean bishops have echoed that stance. The Antilles Episcopal Conference, in its October statement, insisted that efforts to counter narcotrafficking and strengthen border security must respect international law, human dignity, and national sovereignty. The bishops condemned the “arbitrary and unwarranted taking of life,” following reports that U.S. strikes in both the Caribbean and Pacific have resulted in dozens of deaths.
Environmental concerns remain central to the Puerto Rican bishops’ assessment of the situation. Citing Laudato Si’, the CEP warned that modern weapons systems can destabilize entire marine and coastal ecosystems — a threat particularly acute for low-lying island nations already living with the effects of climate change. This is an ongoing issue for Puerto Rico, which still deals with the effects of previous naval bases on the territory.
Both the CEP and the Antilles bishops have urged regional governments to avoid turning the Caribbean into a theater of conflict. Puerto Rican bishops pointed to the island’s own history of peaceful civic action, including the “Paz para Vieques” movement, as evidence that Caribbean societies are capable of unified, nonviolent responses to crisis.
