Three US Cardinals: Foreign policy must respect human dignity, religious liberty

Three US Cardinals Call for a Moral Foundation in U.S. Foreign Policy

In a rare and significant joint statement released on January 19, 2026, three prominent American Cardinals, Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington, and Joseph Tobin of Newark, urged the United States to ground its foreign policy in principles of human dignity and religious liberty.

Their declaration came just ten days after Pope Leo XIV’s “State of the World” address, which had sharply criticized the resurgence of war and the erosion of multilateral diplomacy.

The Cardinals framed their intervention as part of what they described as “the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War.” They pointed to recent crises in Venezuela, Ukraine, and Greenland as examples of how questions surrounding the use of military force and the meaning of peace have become increasingly urgent. According to them, the sovereign right of nations to self-determination is under threat in today’s conflict-driven geopolitics.

Echoing Pope Leo XIV, the statement lamented the weakness of international institutions and the failure of diplomacy to foster dialogue and consensus.

The Pope had warned that “war is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading,” noting that the post-World War II principle prohibiting nations from violating borders through force has been undermined.

The Cardinals aligned themselves with this critique, emphasizing that peace must be sought as a good in itself, not as a byproduct of military dominance.

Central to their message was the insistence that the right to life is the indispensable foundation of all other human rights. They called on wealthy nations to provide humanitarian aid to safeguard the dignity of those who suffer, while also condemning the growing violations of conscience and religious freedom carried out in the name of ideological or religious purity. For them, a truly moral foreign policy must renounce war as a tool of narrow national interest, reserving military action only for extreme situations as a last resort.

The Cardinals envisioned a foreign policy that advances human life, protects religious liberty, and enhances human dignity worldwide, particularly through economic assistance.

They argued that Pope Leo XIV’s address offers the United States a moral prism through which to overcome polarization, partisanship, and narrow economic or social interests that currently dominate the national debate.

Cupich, McElroy, and Tobin expressed their desire to build “a truly just and lasting peace,” rooted in the Gospel and Catholic teaching.

Their statement represents a forceful call for the United States to reclaim its moral role in international affairs, not through military might, but through the pursuit of justice, dialogue, and respect for the fundamental rights of all people.