Fr. Francesco Giordano: Providence, Law, Charity, and the Moral Limits of Political Violence

By Fr. Francesco Giordano, STD, Catholic Exchange, March 10, 2026

Fr. Francesco Giordano, STD is Director of Human Life International’s Rome Office and a diocesan priest and professor in Rome, Italy, currently teaching at both the Angelicum and The Catholic University of America. He publishes regularly at Human Life International and appears on Vita Umana Internazionale YouTube channel.

The recent military strike by the United States and Israel against Iran has provoked intense global debate. Russia, China, and North Korea quickly condemned the intervention as a violation of international law, and many Western commentators echoed similar accusations, appealing to the prohibition of the use of force found in the United Nations Charter. Such reactions assume that the international order is fundamentally governed by stable legal norms capable of regulating the conduct of states.

Yet the reality of international politics appears far more fragile. For more than two centuries, international law has rarely functioned as a sovereign authority capable of enforcing its own norms. From the wars of Napoleon to the upheavals of the twentieth century and the conflicts of the present day, decisive political events have often been shaped less by juridical principles than by the balance of power. Even the creation of the United Nations after the Second World War has not eliminated this structural problem. The international system lacks a universal authority capable of compelling obedience to law. In such an environment, appeals to international legality alone cannot guarantee peace or justice. …

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