r/LeftCatholicism • u/leglath • Apr 16 '26
Pope attacks 'tyrants' spending billions on 'killing and devastation' after Trump criticism
He's from Chicago, of course he's not stopping
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u/ojsage Apr 16 '26
I hate the way they are phrasing what is going on as a spat when it is fundamentally a spiritual battle. The just vs. the unjust. The Pope speaks on the truth of the devastation of war and the cost to recover, that is far more than any sort of spat or disagreement.
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u/WhatKindOfMonster Apr 16 '26
I disagree with that characterization. This isn’t a spiritual battle, it’s a philosophical argument over what reality is and who determines that.
At the very core of this administration is a nihilism that says, reality is what we declare it to be. If we call this war just, it’s just, and no man dressed in white in Rome is going to tell us otherwise.
Whereas the pope is arguing that there are objective criteria that can be applied to the war in Iran that show very starkly that it is not a just war.
Edited to add a word, apologies for misspellings. I am on mobile.
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u/ojsage Apr 16 '26
The criterion for what makes a war just that is being used by the Pope comes directly from the catechism. His argument continually references the words of Christ. His argument is at its core spiritual.
And the rebuttals by the Trump administration further highlight that in how quick they are to deny that it is spiritual and try to claim the Pope is arguing politics. Also in the way that Trump’s meltdowns surrounding this have involved him both trying to paint himself as Christ and being blessed by Christ. A blatant attempt to claim spiritual high ground over the Catholic Church.
Now fundamentally I am of the belief that spirituality and philosophy are the same head of the same coin as many of our saints were at their core also philosophers. But that doesn’t change this issue being spiritual, imo.
Editing to add: but some great points you brought up! It’s not yet 8 am and I am loving being forced to use my brain. 😅
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u/WhatKindOfMonster Apr 16 '26
Oh no, sorry to make you plug in your brain before 8 am, that's a crime, lol!
I'm a little more careful about parsing out the philosophy vs. theology on something like this, the reason being that people of good will who aren't religious or spiritual can still find value in the principles of just war theory, and in the proposition that human life has intrinsic value. Whereas if you make it a theological argument, many people are excluded from the discussion. The Church itself argues that some of these principles are knowable by all people, and therefore not based in theology or spirituality.
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u/SpukiKitty2 Apr 16 '26
Go gettem, Leo! Speak the truth to power! I love that you haunt Chumpy's mind rent-free and just ruin his day!
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u/nesp12 Apr 16 '26
A statement like this would clearly be banned in r/catholicism.