Pope Leo calls on Catholics to 'move beyond' just war theory in new encyclical
religionnews.com
Pope Leo's new encyclical challenges a 1,500-year-old moral framework — arguing that "just war" theory has become a blank check for modern violence rather than a restraint on it.
Just War TheoryMoral PhilosophyCosmopolitanismPacifism
Theory Briefing
- Pope Leo's encyclical explicitly calls Catholics to move beyond just war theory, which dates back to Augustine and Aquinas.
- The Pope argues the doctrine is now 'invoked too often to justify any' conflict — a classic case of moral framework capture.
- The call echoes pacifist and cosmopolitan philosophy traditions that see sovereign war-making as incompatible with universal human dignity.