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Pope Leo, AI, and Just War Theory

Pope Leo XIV’s “Magnifica Humanitas” warns that just war theory has too often been used to justify any kind of war and, in light of modern weapons and artificial intelligence, may be outdated. But is he correct?

From Homer’s “Iliad” to our own constitutional order, civilization has understood that war is never morally self-authenticating. The mere fact that a nation can fight does not mean that it may fight, nor that it may fight however it pleases.

That intuition, disciplined by Christian theology, refined by natural law, translated into international law, and embodied in our Constitution, is called just war theory. Properly understood, it is not a hymn to militarism or a warrant for adventurism. It is a restraint on power, a framework of moral judgment, and a reminder that the sword, even when lawfully borne, remains an instrument to be feared.

The Christian tradition begins with sober anthropology. Man is made in the image of God, but man is fallen. Political authority exists for the common good, yet it is vulnerable to vanity, fear, ideology, and the libido dominandi—the lust for power. The tradition rejects both pacifist abstraction and bellicose enthusiasm. Peace is the normal object of political order, but force may be necessary to defend the innocent, punish grave wrongs, and restore a peace shattered by aggression.

Saint Augustine gave the first systematic Christian account of just war. He insisted that the power to declare war belongs to lawful authority, not factions, mobs, or private militias. He required just cause, describing just war as one that answers grave wrongs, and right intention, admonishing that “peace should be the object of your desire; war should be waged only as a necessity.” Here is the Augustinian genius: Motive matters.

A state may have an army, a grievance, and a strategy, yet still act unjustly if animated by vengeance, cruelty, or domination.

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