DDF prefect condemns just-war justifications for preventive wars
June 29, 2026
» Continue to this story on Vatican News (Italian)
CWN Editor's Note: In an address to the extraordinary consistory of cardinals, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said that Catholic social doctrine has been misused to provide justifications for what are described as preventive wars.
In attempting to justify preventive wars, leaders invoke “unproven preparatory actions for external aggression,” said Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, as “we continue to see in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, and elsewhere.”
“The destruction of entire cities cannot be considered a proportionate defensive action,” Cardinal Fernández added, as he lamented “the enormous disproportion of military interventions in Gaza and southern Lebanon.”
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