In line with a long tradition in Catholicism, the pope and many bishops have been speaking out about the war in Iran. Catholic teaching subscribes to the just war theory which has ancient roots that span many centuries, philosophies, cultures and faiths. Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, DC has offered (3/9/2026) an explanation of the just war theory and its application to the war in Iran. I hope this lengthy section McElroy's post will be helpful to my readers.
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The Church has a long and substantial teaching on the issues of war and peace. At the center of that teaching is an abiding resistance to war. Pope John Paul II vigorously opposed the 2003 Iraq War and stated categorically that war ‘is always a defeat for humanity.’ Pope Francis called for the total abolition of war, stating that ‘every war leaves the world worse than it was before.’ Pope Leo has noted with alarm that there is a raging zeal for war across nations at this current moment, which is utterly incompatible with Catholic faith. At their heart, each of these papal teachings testifies to the fact that we are followers of Jesus Christ, who placed peace-making at the heart of his call to discipleship and fidelity. Non-violence must be the first stance of Catholics in the world.
At the same time, in some emergency situations, the Church has historically allowed resort to war if six conditions are clearly and simultaneously met:
- Just Cause: The war must be undertaken in defense against an attack that is grave and certain on a nation, its allies or a defenseless human community.
- The legitimate authority in the country contemplating war must declare war.
- The country goes to war with right intention, namely to redress the specific just cause and restore peace.
- War is the last resort to repel the aggression.
- The expected destruction from the war must not outweigh the expected good.
- There is a reasonable hope of success.
At this present moment, the U.S. decision to go to war against Iran fails to meet the just war threshold for a morally legitimate war in at least three requirements:
• The criterion of just cause is not met because our country was not responding to an existing or imminent and objectively verifiable attack by Iran. As Pope Benedict declared categorically, Catholic teaching does not support preventative war, i.e. a war justified by speculation about events in the future. If preventative war were to be accepted morally, then all limits to the cause for going to war would be put in extreme jeopardy.
• The criterion of right intention is not met in our country’s decision to attack Iran. One of the most worrying elements of these first days of the war in Iran is that our goals and intentions are absolutely unclear, ranging from the destruction of Iran’s conventional and nuclear weapons potential to the overthrow of its regime to the establishment of a democratic government to unconditional surrender. You cannot satisfy the just war tradition’s criterion of right intention if you do not have a clear intention.
• Finally, our current war effort does not meet Catholic just war teaching because it is far from clear that the benefits of this war will outweigh the harm which will be done. The Middle East is the most unstable region in the world, and the most unpredictable. Already the war has had unintended consequences. Iran’s morally despicable decision to target its neighbors in the region has spread the expanse of destruction. Lebanon may fall into civil war. The world’s oil supply is under great strain. The potential disintegration of Iran could well produce new and dangerous realities. And the possibility of immense casualties on all sides is immense.
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