El Ignaciano / Junio 2026

«¡Con la Iglesia hemos t opado!»

Don Quijote a Sancho en
El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha,
de Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 

La guerra en la que se ha implicado el gobierno de EE. UU. en el Oriente Medio ha sido objeto de múltiples declaraciones por parte del papa León XIV, de la jerarquía y otros miembros de la Iglesia en este país que han provocado la reacción por parte del presidente Trump y otros representantes de su gobierno, tal como indican las noticias que relacionamos a continuación y que nos recuerdan la clásica exclamación con la que la hemos titulado este artículo.

La Civiltà Cattolica, 2 de abril

…el Pontífice ha repetido en diversas ocasiones llamamientos similares. Se ha referido a «la atroz violencia de la guerra» (Ángelus del 15 de marzo), calificada como «un escándalo para toda la familia humana» (Ángelus del 22 de marzo) y, con la cercanía de la Pascua, ha recordado la difícil situación de los cristianos en Oriente Medio, cuya prueba «interpela la conciencia de todos» (Ángelus del 29 de marzo).

 Resuenan, finalmente, con lúcida claridad, las palabras pronunciadas en la homilía de la celebración del Domingo de Ramos: «¡Dios es amor! ¡Tengan piedad! ¡Depongan las armas, recuerden que son hermanos!».

Washington Examiner, April 6

In an interview set to air Easter Sunday, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the head of Archdiocese for the Military, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that “he took issue with War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s invocation of religion to boost morale in the war. The war, he said, anticipates a nuclear threat rather than responding to realized danger.”

Vatican News, April 12

Speaking against the backdrop of continuing conflict, death, displacement, and division, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa. expressed his belief that truth must continue to be told about the ongoing war in the Middle East and that “God is with those who die in war, not with those who abuse his name... Abusing God’s name for war is the gravest sin.”

During his Vigil Mass for Peace, Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington D.C., says that under Catholic just war principles, the initiation of the war in Iran and any continuation of it is "morally illegitimate" and calls on faithful to "pray that the ceasefire holds and that it leads to a substantive foundation for the emergence of peace in the Middle East."

April 13

During the short flight to Algeria, Pope Leo addressed the journalists—as is tradition on papal flights—answering questions about the statements US President Donald Trump made against him on the Truth Social network.

The Pope stressed that he does “not see my role as that of a politician. I am not a politician, and I do not want to enter into a debate with him.” Moreover, he continued, “I do not think the message of the Gospel should be abused as some are doing. I continue to speak strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, dialogue, and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems. Too many people are suffering today, too many innocent lives have been lost, and I believe someone must stand up and say there is a better way.”

America Magazine, April 13

(OSV News) — In a joint interview with CBS’s Norah O’Donnell that aired April 12 on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington and Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark voiced their concerns over the Iran war, mass deportations and more.

The New York Times, April 13

President Trump assailed Pope Leo XIV in a lengthy social media post as too liberal and “weak on crime” and posted an image that depicted himself as Jesus, drawing swift criticism from across the political spectrum. Mr. Trump told reporters he thought the image “was me as a doctor” and had deleted it.

Tensions have been mounting between the Vatican and the White House, including over the war in Iran. 

Religión Digital, 13 de abril

«Me entristece que el presidente haya optado por escribir palabras tan despectivas sobre el Santo Padre. El papa León XIII no es su rival, ni es un político. Es el Vicario de Cristo, quien habla desde la verdad del Evangelio y por el cuidado de las almas».

Con esta declaración ha salido al paso el arzobispo Paul S. Coakley, presidente de la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Estados Unidos, del furibundo ataque de Donald Trump desde sus redes sociales.

Catholic Standard, April 13

From the text of Cardinal Robert W. McElroy’s homily at the Vigil Mass for Peace on April 11, 2026 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C.:

“For we are in the midst of an immoral war. We entered this war not out of necessity but rather choice. We failed to ardently pursue the pathway of negotiation to its end before turning to war. We had no clear intention, instead darting from unconditional surrender to regime change to the degradation of conventional weapons to the removal of nuclear materials. And we blinded ourselves to the cascade of global destructiveness that would likely flow from our attacks – the expansion of the war far beyond Iran, the disruption of the world economy, and the loss of life. Each of these policy failures is equally a moral failure which under Catholic just war principles renders both the initiation of this war and any continuation of it morally illegitimate.”

Georgetown University - Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life Video, April 13, 2026

“War is Back in Vogue”: Iran and Catholic Teachings on a Moral Foreign Policy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwRQocWwp1k

Arthur Holquin in Fr. James Martin’s  Facebook, April 15
(https://www.facebook.com/FrJamesMartin/

The Vice President of the United States — seven years a Catholic, formerly an evangelical, before that a self-described atheist — stood before a Turning Point USA audience in Georgia and publicly admonished Pope Leo XIV about theological precision. “If you’re going to opine on matters of theology,” Vance informed the successor of Peter, “you’ve got to be careful, you’ve got to make sure it’s anchored in the truth.”...

The occasion for Vance’s correction was Pope Leo’s statement that “God is never on the side of those who wield the sword.” Vance responded by invoking the thousand-year tradition of Just War theory as if the pope were unaware of it.

A seven-year Catholic who tells the pope to watch his theology, while defending an administration that posted an AI image of the president as Jesus Christ and refused to apologize, is not in communion with the tradition he claims to be writing about.

Vatican News, April 15

Editorial. Popes and wars in the contemporary era:

Faced with the destructive power of modern weapons, it is very difficult to speak, as was done in past centuries, of the possibility of a ‘just war.’ As early as 1963, Pope John XXIII, in 'Pacem in Terris,' wrote that in the atomic age it becomes almost impossible to think that war can be considered an instrument of justice. In this same spirit stands Pope Leo XIV, who is making peace one of the central themes of his pontificate.

Miami Herald, April 15

The Trump administration has abruptly canceled an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities to shelter and care for migrant children who enter the U.S. alone, ending a relationship between the Catholic Church and the U.S. government dating back to the first arrivals of Cuban exiles in South Florida.

The development comes amid rising tensions between the administration and American Catholics over President Donald Trump’s heated criticism of the Vatican’s first American pope, Leo XIV. The pontiff has made opposition to the U.S. war with Iran, as well as concern for the welfare of migrants, a cornerstone of his ministry.

Vatican News, April 16

Given the recent public comments regarding the Catholic Church's teaching on war and peace, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) posted a statement on their website on April 15, 2026, of Bishop James Massa, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Doctrine, who stated the following:

“For over a thousand years, the Catholic Church has taught just war theory and it is that long tradition the Holy Father carefully references in his comments on war. A constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2308). That is, to be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said: ‘He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.’

When Pope Leo XIV speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ. The consistent teaching of the Church is insistent that all people of good will must pray and work toward lasting peace while avoiding the evils and injustices that accompany all wars.”

La Civiltà Cattolica, 24 de abril

Papa León XIV, Encuentro por la paz con la comunidad de Bamenda, Camerún, 16 de abril de 2026: «¡Bienaventurados los que trabajan por la paz! En cambio, ¡ay de quienes doblegan las religiones y el mismo nombre de Dios a sus propios intereses militares, económicos o políticos, arrastrando lo que es santo hacia lo más sucio y tenebroso! […]. Los señores de la guerra fingen no saber que basta un instante para destruir, pero que a menudo no basta una vida para reconstruir. Disimulan no ver que se necesitan miles de millones de dólares para matar y devastar, y que no se encuentran los recursos necesarios para sanar, educar y levantar. Quienes saquean los recursos de la tierra que les pertenece, suelen invertir gran parte de las ganancias en armas, en un espiral de desestabilización y muerte sin fin».

Religión Digital, 5 de mayo

Nuevo ataque del presidente Donald Trump contra su compatriota, el papa León XIV, a quien ha acusado –dos días antes de que Robert F. Prevost reciba en audiencia al secretario de Estado de los Estados Unidos, el católico Marco Rubio– de “poner en peligro a muchos católicos” por sus postura contraria a la guerra con Irán, empezada por el líder del movimiento MAGA con un ataque conjunto de su país con Israel el pasado 28 de febrero.

Vatican News, 6 de mayo

As he departed from Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed that the Church has consistently spoken out against nuclear weapons.

“For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point,” the Pope said, responding to President Trump’s claim that the Pope considers it acceptable for Iran to possess nuclear weapons, thereby placing all Catholics at risk.

“The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, to preach peace,” he said. “If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let him do so truthfully.”

Junta Editorial