Pope says concept of ‘just war’ is ‘outdated,’ warns against use of conflict to distract from domestic issues

Pope Leo XIV labels as “outdated” the concept of a “just war,” put forward by US President Donald Trump’s administration, warning that “humanity is slipping into a violent culture of power.”

“The past 60 years have been marked by conflicts of astonishing brutality, often affecting civilian populations on a massive scale,” states Leo, in an encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity).

“Humanity is slipping into a violent culture of power, where peace no longer appears as a responsibility to be taken on, but as a fragile interval between conflicts,” he says.

Leo also makes one of the clearest statements yet from a pope repudiating the just war theory, a doctrine the Church has used since at least the fifth century to evaluate global conflicts.

The doctrine, which generally says that wars ⁠should only be waged in order to defend against aggression, has also been invoked by Trump administration officials, including US Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, to defend the Iran war.

“The ‘just war’ theory which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated,” writes Leo.

“The use of force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations.”

Leo also expresses concern that leaders could start wars to distract citizens from domestic issues.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that some leaders may consider armed conflict as an effective way of diverting attention from domestic problems and a cynical tool for managing difficulties,” he states.