Monday, April 13, 2026
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EDT
Location: Online Via Livestream
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 will help us explore these questions and others.
Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, will moderate the conversation.
Recording
The conversation starting at 12:30 p.m. EDT will be recorded and posted online for later viewing.
Photo credit: Hassan Ghaedi/Anadolu via Getty Images
Participants
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 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 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 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).
Related
Accessibility
All accommodation requests should be sent to cathsocialthought@georgetown.edu by Thursday, April 9. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill requests.