Cardinals back Pope’s “outdated” verdict on just war

The Prefect said, though, that “not only the practice, but also the very concept of self-defense" must be clarified further so that it may be understood in its strictest sense.

The traditional criterial are becoming "useless and ineffective," he said, and condemned “the enormous disproportion in military interventions” in various parts of the world, under the pretext of self-defense, noting situations ranging from Gaza to southern Lebanon.

Subsequently, the cardinals, meeting in small discussion groups, also took up this theme. “Many groups agreed on the need to move beyond the logic of ‘just war,’ as the Gospel is not imposed by force, and to speak instead of a right to proportionate defense,” stated the Holy See Press Office.

Continuing their assessment of the world’s suffering, the cardinals also denounced the temptation “to conform to the logic of the powerful, to normalize war.” They emphasized in particular the role of interfaith dialogue, but also “that of political power, freed from its toxic link with economic power.”

Numerous reports have praised Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, published last May, on humanity in the age of artificial intelligence. They affirmed that “the Pope’s stern words in the encyclical regarding the Church’s delay in condemning slavery have opened the hearts of millions of people to the Gospel.”

Proceedings are continuing today, Saturday, and will conclude this evening.