Three Catholic Cardinals from the US have urged the Trump administration to change its moral direction, after military intervention in Venezuela, threats to acquire Greenland and cuts to foreign aid have risked causing more harm than good.
Cardinals Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, Blase Cupich of Chicago and Robert Elroy of Washington warned that without a moral vision, the debate of Washington's foreign policy was tainted with "polarisation, partisanship and narrow economic and social interests".
McElroy told the Associated Press(AP): "Most of the United States and the world are adrift morally in terms of foreign policy."
He added: "I still believe the United States has a tremendous impact upon the world."
The joint statement that was released on Monday marked the second time in two months that members of the US Catholic hierarchy have asserted their voice against Trump's administration, which many believe isn't upholding the tenets of basic human dignity.
“Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination,” they warned.
“We renounce war as an instrument for narrow national interests and proclaim that military action must be seen only as a last resort in extreme situations, not a normal instrument of national policy,” they wrote. “We seek a foreign policy that respects and advances the right to human life, religious liberty, and the enhancement of human dignity throughout the world, especially through economic assistance.”
The statement came following the recent capture of the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, and Trump's threats to impose taxes on the UK and seven other European countries until the US can purchase Greenland.
The US Conference of Catholic bishops condemned the administration's mass deportation of migrants and "vilification" of them in November.
“It can’t be that my prosperity is predicated on inhuman treatment of others,” Tobin told the AP. “The real argument isn’t just my right or individual rights, but what is the common good.”
On January 9, Pope Leo XIV addressed the Holy See, where he denounced how nations were using force to assert their dominion worldwide, "completely undermining" peace and the post-World War II international order.
The three cardinals, who are prominent figures in the US church, took inspiration from the Pope's critique of US foreign policy.