Cal Thomas - Pope Leo’s flawed war doctrine
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
The coverage leans on the idea that a papal critique of American power is automatically morally clarifying. But when Pope Leo XIV scolds the United States for trying to block Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the assumption seems to be that restraint is inherently virtuous and pressure is inherently provocative. That is a comforting frame, not a serious one.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Pope Leo XIV used part of his Palm Sunday message to castigate the United States for attempting to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power and threatening the world with mass destruction. In doing so, the “American Pope” confused the
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The coverage leans on the idea that a papal critique of American power is automatically morally clarifying. But when Pope Leo XIV scolds the United States for trying to block Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the assumption seems to be that restraint is inherently virtuous and pressure is inherently provocative. That is a comforting frame, not a serious one.
What gets missed is that Iran is not a neutral actor caught in great power paranoia. It is a regime that funds proxies, threatens neighbors, and treats negotiations as time-buying. Deterrence is not bloodlust. It is the plain recognition that national security requires preventing a theocracy from holding a nuclear trigger.
America can debate tactics and costs, but the principle is straightforward: credible defense and rule of law matter more than symbolic rebukes. In the real world, public trust is built when leaders take threats as they are, not as we wish them to be.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.