Three prominent US Catholic cardinals have issued a rare and pointed warning to President Donald Trump, urging his administration to apply a moral vision to American foreign policy amid threats involving Greenland, military action abroad and cuts to foreign aid.
Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington and Joseph Tobin of Newark released a joint statement on Monday cautioning that current US policy risks creating suffering rather than promoting peace.
They warned that without ethical grounding, Washington’s foreign policy debate is becoming trapped in “polarization, partisanship, and narrow economic and social interests.”
Concerns over force, Greenland and aid cuts
The cardinals specifically referenced US actions and rhetoric involving Venezuela, Greenland, and Ukraine, as well as the Trump administration’s decision to significantly reduce foreign aid funding.
“Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination,” they said.
McElroy told the Associated Press that the US remains a powerful global force but is currently “adrift morally in terms of foreign policy.”
Opposition to military action as policy tool
In their statement, the church leaders strongly rejected the routine use of military force.
“We renounce war as an instrument for narrow national interests and proclaim that military action must be seen only as a last resort in extreme situations, not a normal instrument of national policy,” they said.
They argued that peace, human dignity and the common good should guide international engagement, particularly through economic assistance and humanitarian support.
Pope’s speech influenced warning
The statement was partly inspired by a January 9 address by Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pope, who delivered a sharp critique of modern foreign policy approaches during a speech to Vatican diplomats.
Although the pope did not name specific countries, he condemned the growing use of force by nations to assert dominance, warning that it undermines peace and the post-World War II international legal order.
His remarks came amid recent US military action in Venezuela, threats to acquire Greenland, and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Greenland threats raise alarm
Trump has repeatedly argued that the US needs control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, citing national security and resource interests.
Cardinal Cupich said that even when objectives appear justified, the method matters.
“When it’s portrayed as ‘because we can do it, we’re going to do it,’ that’s a troublesome development,” he said, stressing the importance of respecting international law.
Foreign aid cuts criticised
The cardinals also criticised the administration’s deep cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which Trump has claimed promotes a liberal agenda.
Tobin, who has worked in more than 70 countries, said US aid plays a critical role in addressing hunger, health care and humanitarian crises.
“It can’t be that my prosperity is predicated on inhuman treatment of others,” Tobin said. “The real question is the common good.”
Moral appeal, not political endorsement
The cardinals stressed that their statement was not a partisan attack but a moral appeal.
“We’re not endorsing a political party or a political movement,” Tobin said, adding that people of goodwill should advocate for basic human decency in global affairs.
Their intervention marks the second major rebuke from senior US Catholic leaders in recent months, following the bishops’ condemnation of the administration’s mass deportation policies late last year.
