The top Catholic cardinals in the United States are urging the Trump administration to use its moral compass in foreign policy

ROME (AP) — Three American Catholic cardinals urged the Trump administration Monday to use a moral compass in pursuing its foreign policy, saying U.S. military action in Venezuela, threats to seize Greenland and cuts in foreign aid threaten widespread suffering rather than promoting peace.

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In a joint statement, Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington, and Joseph Tobin of Newark warned that without a moral vision, the current debate over Washington’s foreign policy is mired in “polarization, partisanship, and narrow economic and social interests.”

“Most of the United States and the world are morally out of touch with respect to foreign policy,” McIlroy told The Associated Press. “I still believe that the United States has tremendous influence on the world.”

This statement was unusual, and was the second time in as many months that members of the US Catholic hierarchy asserted their voice against the Trump administration, which many believe does not respect basic principles of human dignity. In November, the entire US Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned the US administration’s mass deportations of immigrants and their “vilification” in public discourse.

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The three cardinals, prominent figures in the more progressive wing of the American church, took as a starting point a major foreign policy speech delivered by Pope Leo XIV on January 9 to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.

The speech, delivered almost entirely in English, was Liu’s substantive criticism of US foreign policy. The first US-born pope in history has denounced how countries use force to assert their dominance around the world, “completely undermining” peace and the international legal order after World War II.

Liu did not mention specific countries, but his speech came against the backdrop of the recent US military operation in Venezuela to remove Nicolas Maduro from power, US threats to seize Greenland, as well as Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Conference spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi said the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was consulted about the statement, and that its president, Archbishop Paul Coakley, “supports the cardinals’ affirmation of Pope Leo’s teachings in these times.”

The White House did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment on Monday.

Cardinals question the use of force

The three cardinals cited Venezuela, Greenland and Ukraine in their statement – saying they “raised fundamental questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace” – as well as foreign aid cuts initiated by US President Donald Trump’s administration last year.

“Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, upholding the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious freedom are all under scrutiny,” they warned.

“We repudiate war as an instrument to advance narrow national interests and declare that military action should be viewed only as a last resort in extreme situations, and not as a normal instrument of national policy,” they wrote. “We seek a foreign policy that respects and promotes the right to human life, religious freedom, and the promotion of human dignity throughout the world, especially through economic assistance.”

Tobin described the moral compass that the cardinals want the United States to use globally.

“My prosperity cannot be dependent on the inhumane treatment of others,” he told the AP. “The real argument is not just my right or my individual rights, but what the common good is.”

The Cardinals expand on their statement in interviews with the AP

In interviews, Cupich and McIlroy said the signatories were inspired to issue a statement after hearing from several of their fellow cardinals during a Jan. 7-8 meeting at the Vatican. These other cardinals expressed concern about US action in Venezuela, reductions in foreign aid and its threats to seize Greenland, Cupich said.

A day later, Leo’s nearly 45-minute speech to the diplomatic corps gave Americans the language they needed, allowing them to “take advantage” of the pope’s words, Cupich said.

Cupich acknowledged that prosecuting Maduro could be viewed positively, but not in the way it was done through a US military incursion into a sovereign state.

“When we go ahead and do it in a way that is portrayed as saying, ‘Because we can do it, we will do it, it might be true’ — that is a disturbing development,” he said. “There is a rule of law that must be followed.”

Trump insisted that Maduro’s arrest was legal. In Greenland, Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States needs to control the resource-rich island, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. For the sake of its national security.

The Trump administration last year largely gutted the U.S. Agency for International Development, saying its projects advanced a liberal agenda and were a waste of money.

Tobin, who has served in more than 70 countries as a devoted priest and superior general of the order, lamented the decline in USAID aid, saying American philanthropy makes a big difference on everything from hunger to health.

The three cardinals said their main goal was not to criticize the administration, but rather to encourage the United States to restore its moral standing in the world by pursuing a foreign policy that is morally oriented and seeks the common good.

“We do not support a political party or political movement,” Tobin said. He said that the believers in the seats and all good people will have a role to play.

“They can make an argument for basic human morality,” he said.

Dell’Orto reported from Minneapolis.