Vatican Cardinal Accused the EU of a "Double Standard" on Ukraine and Gaza. Leo XIV Pushes for a Change to Just War Doctrine

At a closed-door consistory attended by 178 cardinals in the Vatican, the head of the doctrinal office, Víctor Manuel Fernández, directly named the European Union: it imposes sanctions and sends weapons to one invaded country, but, in his view, does not act the same way toward other, "even more serious" invasions. It was one of the sharpest statements of the two-day meeting, at which, according to the Vatican's summary, several groups of cardinals backed Pope Leo XIV's intention to reconsider the centuries-old doctrine of "just war" and shift it toward the narrower concept of a "right to proportionate defense." The dispute also has a political opponent in the United States — Vice President J. D. Vance, who has used just war theory to defend American and Israeli strikes on Iran.

A "Double Standard" Bearing the EU's Name

Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, opened Friday's session with the thesis that governments increasingly apply moral and legal principles according to political expediency rather than a universal standard. "If a country is an enemy, we condemn it as undemocratic and impose various sanctions. If it's an ally, we overlook the fact that it doesn't respect freedom of speech, human rights, or democracy," he said, according to a report by the newspaper Politico, picked up by Romanian media. He specifically named Brussels: "The European Union imposes economic sanctions on one country and sends money and weapons to another, but it doesn't do the same for other, even more serious invasions with more brutal consequences for entire nations." According to him, this shows that it is "political and economic interests" that decide, not a firm framework of values. Digi24 ↗ Mediafax ↗

The Dispute Over "Just War"

The main topic of the consistory, however, was not the EU but war itself. Fernández recalled the encyclical Magnifica humanitas — devoted mainly to artificial intelligence and the "culture of power" — in which Leo XIV described the classical doctrine of just war as "outdated." According to him, the traditional criteria are becoming "useless and ineffective," and the doctrine has been "misused to provide a theoretical basis for the most unjust wars" — instead of stopping wars, it helps justify them. The Vatican is therefore moving toward the concept of a "right to proportionate defense": according to the summary from the Holy See Press Office, "many groups" of cardinals agreed that the logic of just war needs to be moved beyond, because "the Gospel is not advanced by force." The concept of legitimate self-defense is to be interpreted "in the strictest sense," rejecting broad justifications for preventive wars. The cardinal condemned the "enormous disproportion of military interventions" from Gaza to southern Lebanon. Aleteia ↗ National Catholic Reporter ↗

Clash With Vance

The dispute also has a very concrete adversary. Leo XIV has repeatedly questioned whether the war against Iran meets the criteria of a just war — as early as April he invoked St. Augustine, saying that a Christian "never stands on the side of those who once drew the sword and today drop bombs." Vice President J. D. Vance, who himself converted to Catholicism, has instead used just war theory to defend American and Israeli military strikes on Iran and told the Pope to be "careful," since there is "a tradition of more than a thousand years." One of the leading American bishops sharply condemned Vance's statement, while the conservative think tank FDD published an analysis titled "Contra Pope Leo, Catholic Just War Doctrine Supports Iran Strikes." NPR ↗ The Daily Beast ↗ FDD ↗

Limits of This Perspective

The Vatican's message has weak points that need to be named. Fernández did not name only the EU — he equally criticized both Russia and the United States for having "expanded the concept of self-defense beyond recognition," from Ukraine to the Middle East. The framing "the EU has a double standard," which Romanian headlines emphasized, is thus narrower than the cardinal's actual remarks. Moreover, the very comparison of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the Israeli operation in Gaza is itself contentious, and according to Western analysts and fact-checkers, this is precisely the equation the Kremlin has long pushed in order to relativize its own aggression. The Vatican argues from moral consistency, not support for Moscow — but the sentence "the EU applies a double standard" sounds the same whether it comes from a cardinal or a Russian spokesperson, and the two should not be conflated. And finally: none of this is binding doctrine yet. The consistory is advisory, the summary of the debates does not change the Catechism, and Leo XIV himself said on Saturday that the topic "is far from closed" and requires "theological and pastoral rigor." Vatican News ↗

What hotinfo Is Following

Whether — and when — Leo XIV turns the consistory's conclusions into a formal document or a revision of the Catechism. Brussels' and national governments' reaction to being explicitly accused of a "double standard." The next round of the dispute with Vance and the Trump administration, which has repeatedly criticized the Pope over his stance on Iran. And finally, how the concept of "proportionate defense" will translate into Vatican diplomacy on Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon.