U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not only Catholic, he appears to have a much better grasp of history, just war theory, and Biblical principles than Pope Leo XIV.
Noting first that the papacy is primarily a spiritual rather than a political office — the “vicar of Christ” and “successor of Peter on earth,” rather than a political leader — Rubio did acknowledge that the pope will, of course, sometimes comment on political matters, even if such remarks are not protected by papal infallibility, which applies only to certain statements as defined in canon law. The Catholic Church has long advocated for peace in the modern era, but peace is not always a Christian nation’s choice.
Rubio told the press, “I don't think we're in favor of war, but for a nation state — which is different from a religious office — for a nation state, there are threats to your security and to the wellbeing of your people that have to be addressed, ideally through a diplomatic means, but there are conflicts, and there are issues in the world that cannot be solved diplomatically, no matter how hard you try.”
🚨 WOW! Sec. Marco Rubio gives the perfect response to Pope Leo on the Iran war
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 14, 2026
"What was the diplomatic solution for an Adolf Hitler?"
"There was none."
"Unfortunately, it led to war."
"We are obviously guided by our faith and we're instructed by our faith. That's the… pic.twitter.com/3naJpD7ClV
Let's look at the proper Catholic perspective on war before examining Rubio's full comments. The modern official Church definition of just war is incredibly specific and frankly somewhat unrealistic, but the Church has been endorsing the idea of war as just for certain reasons for two millennia. St. Augustine, from the 5th century, observed, "As violence is used toward him who rebels and insists, so mercy is due to the vanquished or captive." St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in the 13th century, "Those who fight a war should have righteous intentions, so that they intend the advancement of good, or the avoidance of evil." There are many Catholic saints, from ancient times (like St. Martin and St. George) to medieval times (like St. Joan of Arc and King St. Louis IX) to the modern day (like Marine chaplain Fr. Vincent Capodanno, under consideration for canonization), who were soldiers.
And, of course, like all Church teachings, the basis must be and is in Scripture. The book of Joshua describes how God actively assisted the Israelites in conquering the pagan residents of what would become the land of Israel. 1 Chronicles 20 describes King David's wars, 1 Samuel/Kings 7 describes God helping Israel defeat the Philistines, 1 Maccabees describes the praiseworthy military exploits of the Maccabee family, and in 1 Samuel/Kings 15 God rejects Saul as king for refusing to destroy all of Amalek as God commanded. The Old Testament makes it perfectly obvious that God not only allows but sometimes commands war against evil nations.
And while the New Testament is less obviously pro-war, Jesus bestows particular praise on the faith of the Roman centurion (Matthew 8:10), Jesus uses violence to cleanse the Temple of the sacrilegious (John 2, Mark 11), and in Luke 3:14 St. John the Baptist advises soldiers on holy living without telling them to abandon their profession.
While Rubio did not mention the Bible specifically in his reply, he made other good points that complement the above explanation, including citing a historical instance where war was unavoidable.
Related: Pope Leo Gives Honor to Genocidal Iranian Regime Ambassador
“There's been over a decade of work done to try to diplomatically solve Iran's desire and ambition to have a nuclear weapons program,” Rubio observed. “We haven't gotten any result. What was the diplomatic solution for an Adolf Hitler, as an example? There was none, right? And unfortunately [it] led to a war. So that's where I think the realm of the the geopolitical is different.”
He added, “We are obviously guided by our faith, and we're instructed by our faith. That's the compass by which we live our lives. We also have an obligation to the national security of our country, and that has to be taken into account. That's our primary job, is to keep Americans safe, and that's why we're involved in Iran, and that's why we're involved in anything we do around the world.”
The problem with modern wokies, which unfortunately includes Pope Leo, is that they always talk as if peace will prevail if only they can force one side to stop fighting. This is nonsense. Iran's regime has been at war with America and Israel directly or indirectly for 47 years. And Islamic Iranian leaders continue to issue the most dramatic threats against America while bombing civilians. The U.S. has no choice about being at war with jihad; we only have a choice about ending the war. And Pope Leo giving a diplomatic honor to the Iranian ambassador is not going to stop that regime from persecuting Christians any more than the U.S. withdrawing from the Middle East would stop Iranian jihad.
Leo XIV could really benefit from a revival of the Crusader spirit. Popes once understood the existential threat of Islam, and Leo is foolish if he does not.
