Three U.S. cardinals entreat the Trump administration to adopt a moral compass in foreign policy

In a joint statement, three U.S. cardinals expressed concern about the Trump administration foreign policy, including U.S. military action in Venezuela, the threat of a takeover of Greenland and significant spending cuts in foreign aid.

The cardinals include Blase Cupich of Chicago, Joseph Tobin of Newark, N.J. and Robert McElroy of Washington.

“Most of the United States and the world are adrift morally in terms of foreign policy,” McElroy told The Associated Press. “I still believe the United States has a tremendous impact upon the world.”

In the statement, the cardinals cautioned that, without a moral foundation, America’s foreign policy generates “polarization, partisanship and narrow economic and social interests.”

“As pastors entrusted with the teaching of our people, we cannot stand by while decisions are made that condemn millions to lives trapped permanently at the edge of existence. Pope Leo has given us clear direction and we must apply his teachings to the conduct of our nation and its leaders.” Cardinal Cupich

“Catholic social teaching testifies that when national interest narrowly conceived excludes the moral imperative of solidarity among nations and the dignity of the human person, it brings immense suffering to the world and a catastrophic assault on the just peace that benefits every nation and is the will of God.” Further he noted, “In our current national debate about the fundamental contours of American foreign policy, we ignore this reality at the cost of our country’s truest interests and the best traditions of this land that we love.” Cardinal McElroy

“Recent events, including participation in last week’s consistory in Rome with Pope Leo and brother cardinals from across the world, convince me of the need to underscore the vision of Pope Leo for just and peaceful relations among nations. Otherwise, escalating threats and armed conflict risk destroying international relations and plunging the world into incalculable suffering.” Cardinal Tobin

In November, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a unanimous statement, in which it criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation of migrants, failing to preserve their human dignity.

The U.S.C.C.B. issued that statement at the request of Pope Leo, who had delivered a speech to ambassadors of the Holy See, which harshly criticized U.S. foreign policy. Leo, the historic first-born pope, openly protested how nations were using force to assert worldwide dominion, “completely undermining peace and the post-World War II international legal order.”

“In our time, the weakness of multilateralism is a particular cause for concern at the international level,” Leo said.  “A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.  War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading. The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined.”

Leo continued: “Peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good in itself, or in the pursuit of “the establishment of the ordered universe willed by God, with a more perfect form of justice among men and women. Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence.”

Although Leo did not name specific countries, recent events include the U.S. military operation in Venezuela to remove Nicolás Madura from power, U.S. threats to overtake Greenland and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.