US cardinals criticize Iran war, ICE deportations
April 13, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: In a joint interview, Cardinals Blase Cupich, Robert McElroy, and Joseph Tobin—the three cardinals who currently govern archdioceses in the United States—criticized the Iran war and ICE deportations.
“In the Catholic teaching this is not a just war,” Cardinal McElroy said of the Iran war. “The Catholic faith teaches us there are certain prerequisites for a just war. You can’t go for a variety of different aims. You have to have a focused aim, which is to restore justice and restore peace.”
The Iranian regime is “an abominable regime, and it should be removed,” Cardinal McElroy continued. “But this is a war of choice that we went to, and I think it’s embedded in a wider moment in the United States that’s worrying, which is this: we’re seeing before us the possibility of war after war after war.”
Asked why he called ICE a “lawless organization,” Cardinal Tobin said:
I didn’t say that they were people without law. But when people act in this way, when they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well I think somebody’s got to call that out and I’m not the only one.The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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Posted by: jalsardl5053 -
Apr. 14, 2026 9:07 PM ET USA
Nothing like selecting a viewpoint to push eh Cdl. Tobin? Ever hear of doxxing? Yes, there are arguments to be made pro and con; right now, given the proneness of the left to violence, even extreme violence, I'll take a masked ICE agent any day for his/her safety.
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Posted by: feedback -
Apr. 13, 2026 9:08 AM ET USA
The most recent bombing of Iran started 43 days prior to the three Cardinals' interview. Deportations of those who crossed the US border illegally started after the 2025 inauguration. The bombing of Iran and deportations are two moral categories different enough to deserve each a separate evaluation. At his election campaign Trump promised deportations of criminals and no new wars in the ME. He kept one promise and broke the other. But it will make no difference to those who just hate the man.
