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Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life

April 13, 2026

“War is Back in Vogue”

Iran and Catholic Teachings on a Moral Foreign Policy

The United States’ bombardment of Iran is the latest demonstration of what Pope Leo has called a “zeal for war” spreading throughout the world. It stands in stark contrast to the pope’s call for “a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering,” that “comes from God who loves us all unconditionally.”

The Trump administration’s rhetoric and approach to war in the last year has focused on maximum lethality, disproportionate force, and the elimination of restrictions meant to prevent civilian casualties. For centuries, Catholic just war teachings have defined principles to guide both the decision to wage war and the conduct of nations engaged in warfare. Yet today, isolationism, narrow national interests, and a diplomacy of force seem to dominate U.S. foreign policy with little consideration for just war principles and respect for the dignity of human life and the common good.

Can the administration’s rhetoric, tactics, and goals be squared with Catholic teachings? Can the Church’s tradition help us find a way out of current conflicts? Several leaders helped us explore these questions and others.

Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, moderated the conversation. 

​Resources

​View articles, books, and other resources from this dialogue.

Photo credit: Hassan Ghaedi/Anadolu via Getty Images

Participants

Sohrab Ahmari

Sohrab Ahmari

Sohrab Ahmari is the U.S. editor of UnHerd and a former columnist for The New Statesman and the Wall Street Journal, and writes regularly about Iran. His books include Tyranny, Inc.: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty — and What To Do About It (2023) and The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos (2021).

Phil Klay

Phil Klay

Phil Klay is an award-winning author and veteran of the United States Marine Corps. His recent article in the New York Times raises questions about the justification for the U.S. war in Iran. He is the author of Uncertain Ground: Citizenship in an Age of Endless, Invisible War (2022), Missionaries (2020), and Redeployment (2014).

Mary Ellen O’Connell

Mary Ellen O’Connell

Mary Ellen O’Connell is the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Professor of International Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame. Her work is in the areas of international law on the use of force, international dispute resolution, and international legal theory. She is the author of The Art of Law in the International Community (2019) and co-author of Self-Defence Against Non-State Actors (2019).

Elisabetta Piqué

Elisabetta Piqué

Elisabetta Piqué is a war correspondent and Vatican reporter for La Nación, Argentina’s main newspaper. In February, she reported from Israel and Lebanon at the start of the U.S. war in Iran. She has reported on wars and conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and throughout the Middle East, and has traveled with Pope Francis and Pope Leo to Lebanon and other countries in conflict. She is the co-author of The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis (2026) and author of the biography Pope Francis: Life and Revolution (2014).