Cardinal McElroy sees peacebuilding as eclipsing just war tradition, says Catechism‘s teaching ‘unfortunate’
September 24, 2026
» Continue to this story on National Catholic Reporter
CWN Editor's Note: Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., said in a recent address that during the past six months, “tremendous progress has been made toward eclipsing the role of the just war tradition in Catholic teaching, and moving peace-building, multilateralism and active nonviolence toward the center of Catholic thought.”
“The just war framework has been distorted to become a source of justification for those inclined to go to war, rather than a constraint on war,” Cardinal McElroy said in an address to the September 9-10 meeting of Pax Christi International in Rome. “One of the accelerants for this trend is the unfortunate statement in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that the evaluation of the just war criteria belongs to those who have responsibility for the common good.”
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Sep. 27, 2026 1:19 AM ET USA
As is often the case, prelates like McElroy fail to include the entire context of the doctrine they are criticizing. Here is what the Catechism actually says (n. 2309): "The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good." Oops. He forgot the words "prudential judgment". If a leadership has responsibility for the common good, but lacks prudential judgment, then moral legitimacy cannot be assumed.
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Posted by: feedback -
Sep. 24, 2026 8:20 AM ET USA
It helps no one when a Cardinal of the Church undermines a teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church using a forum (NCR) that is known to undermine the teachings of the Church. From his unfortunate statement in the NCR, one might draw a conclusion that his Eminence blames the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the bombing of Iran.
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Posted by: frjimt.stjudes7938 -
Sep. 24, 2026 7:32 AM ET USA
Very rich from one of Mr mccarick's pink mafia bois.... No one should pay attention to the ramblings of any of these
