No (Pope Leo), the Just-War Tradition is Not ‘Outdated’, by Phil Lawler
Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Federal Lawsuit Over Peter’s Pence Papal Collection, by Daniel Payne
May 27, 2026
Fr. Kevin Drew: Let Us Not Get Confused: Christ Is the Priest at Mass
May 27, 2026
Image by Grok. "The Just-War Tradition is Not ‘Outdated’"
By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, May 26, 2026
Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is also the lead news analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
Although I generally admired Pope Leo’s first encyclical, I was dismayed to read, in paragraph 192:
Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the “just war” theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated.
Pope Leo is not the first Pontiff to say that just-war theory is outdated. Pope Francis said the same thing. Even Pope Pius XII, who cannot be classified as a pacifist, said in his Christmas message of 1948: “The theory of war as an apt and proportionate means of solving international conflicts is now out of date.”
But Pius XII, speaking in the aftermath of World War II, did not jettison just-war theory—even with the advent of The Bomb threatening new levels of mass destruction. No one short of Dr. Strangelove would think that nuclear war is “an apt and proportionate means” of resolving conflicts. A just war is always a last resort, when preferable methods have failed. …
Related posts
May 27, 2026
Jesus, the bread of life. El Salvador con la Eucaristía entre Melquisedec y Aarón (Museo del Prado).jpg. This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason: Public domain. The author died in 1579 ...
May 27, 2026