Pope Francis on Just War and Ukraine

Does the Catholic Church still believe in the doctrine of just war? Last week, Pope Francis told Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, "At one time we also spoke in our churches of holy war or just war. Today we cannot speak like that." The pope's criticism of the just war tradition was not a passing comment. It reflects a longstanding view that Francis elaborated in a 2015 speech and a 2020 encyclical. The pope's comment last week was part of his criticism of Kirill's inexcusable misuse of his authority to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kirill is a perfect example of what happens when a church gets too close to the state. In supporting Vladimir Putin's war, he has allowed his moral authority to be coopted by an authoritarian to be used as a fig leaf for a murderous war of conquest, cheapening and undermining the theological language Christians have long used to think about justice and war.