US military archbishop says Iran conflict does not meet ‘just war’ standard | US military
The leader of all Catholic clergy in the US armed forces questioned how justified the US military’s action in Iran was, saying “according to just war theory it is not.”
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Catholic Archdiocese of the U.S. Military Services, told CBS News in an interview broadcast Sunday that while Iran is “a threat with nuclear weapons,” declaring war on the theocratic state means “offsetting the threat before it actually happens.”
Just war theory is a philosophical and legal framework rooted in the theologies of Saints Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, designed to help determine when waging war is morally justified (or jus ad bellum) and how it should be conducted, or jus in bello.
It states that war is only a last resort to right serious wrongs and that ensuring peace requires legitimate authority, correct intent and proportionality.
“The Lord Jesus certainly brought a message of peace, and also I think war is always a last resort,” Broglio told CBS. “I’m not making a judgment on that because I really don’t know. But I think it’s hard to make this war seem like a – you know – God-sponsored thing to do.”
Broglio’s comments are likely to fuel political divisions over the justification for the war, especially among those who are religious and those who may support Donald Trump in general. Trump’s White House argues that Iran’s history of sponsoring terrorism, combined with its missile program and production of highly enriched uranium, justifies this action.
But Democrats described it as a “battle of choice” and accused Trump of missing approval from lawmakers.
As the war drags on, latest polls YouGov and The Economist He found Trump’s approval rating to be 35%.
In a sit-down recorded with Face the Nation before his broadcast, Broglio was asked about his take on the rhetoric of U.S. defense secretary Pete Hegseth, who asked Americans to pray “on their knees every day” for a military victory “in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Broglio said it was “a little bit problematic” in that Jesus preached peace and talked about war as a last resort.
But Broglio defined his position this way: “They may have information that makes them think that’s the only option they have.”
Broglio said he would stand with Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born Catholic pope in history, who “called for negotiation.”
Leo indeed called on Trump and other leaders to find ways to reduce violence in the Middle East and find a “way out” in the war with Iran.
In his homily during Thursday’s mass, the pope said the Christian mission is often “distorted by the desire for domination, which is completely alien to the way of Jesus Christ.”
Broglio said he advises Catholic service members to “do as little harm and effort as possible.” [to] preserve innocent lives”. He noted that the way conscientious objection is framed in the US Military, “you cannot object to a specific war or a specific action. You can only object by saying ‘I am against the war’.”
He added: “The question might be, ‘Can we look at this from a different perspective?’ Is there any space where they can say?
“But after talking to some of them, they are in the same dilemma.”
