Originally published at The Crux
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ROME – In his most significant document to date, Pope Leo XIV addressed what he called a “culture of power” in which violence is favored over peace and limitless technological advancement is embraced at the expense of the human being, especially the poor.
In his new encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, released May 25, the pope cautioned that “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.”
“Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated,” he said.
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The line will likely ruffle feathers among many political leaders in nations involved in war, especially in the United States, where officials, including Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, have repeatedly invoked the church’s just war theory to defend the U.S.’s war in Iran.
An American, Leo XIV has repeatedly condemned the Iran war and other
