Speaking to reporters aboard a flight from Rome to Madrid at the start of a six-day trip to Spain, Pope Leo XIV said the war in Iran does not meet the Catholic Church’s criteria for a “just war,” and pointed to his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, which argues the doctrine is outdated in the era of modern weapons.
Pope Leo XIV said Saturday that the war in Iran does not qualify as a “just war” under Catholic teaching, responding to journalists’ questions aboard the papal plane traveling from Rome to Madrid. > “There is no just war there,” the pope said, according to a report published by NPR through a collaboration with Religion News Service. The question put to Leo referred to remarks by U.S. Vice President JD Vance earlier this year in which Vance invoked “just war” theory in discussing the conflict. The NPR report also noted that President Donald Trump later criticized the pope’s stance in a social media post. Leo pointed to his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, saying it describes the just war tradition as too often used to justify conflict and as out of step with the destructive capacity of modern weaponry. He said the theory emerged in a different era, before today’s weapons were imaginable, and emphasized alternatives such as dialogue and diplomacy. NPR reported that Leo has issued repeated appeals for peace and dialogue since the conflict began in February. The pope also addressed other wars when questioned on the flight. He said he was worried about Ukraine and urged renewed efforts to end the fighting, calling for continued negotiations and noting U.S. efforts to mediate. In the same exchange, he said he has remained in contact with religious leaders in Lebanon, describing the situation there as complex as Israel continues military operations in the country’s south. According to NPR, Leo has made “overcoming” the theory of the just war one of the themes for a Vatican meeting of cardinals he has convened for June 26–27, known as a consistory.
