US Cardinals Blase Cupich, Robert McElroy and Joseph Tobin

As international tensions mounted in Jan 2026, in the wake of another attempt by US President Donald Trump to take over the vast Arctic island, Greenland, three US Cardinals – Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., and Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey – isued a strong warning against the aggressive use of violence in international relations. 

“We renounce war as an instrument for narrow national interests and proclaim that military action must be seen only as a last resort in extreme situations, not a normal instrument of national policy, We seek a foreign policy that respects and advances the right to human life, religious liberty, and the enhancement of human dignity throughout the world, especially through economic assistance.”

There was no mention in their statement of any particular recent controversial action by the US administration, in the Caribbean and Pacific oceans – or in relation to Greenland – but the statement will be interpreted as disapproval of those actions, and in support of international law.

“In 2026, the United States has entered into the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War. The events in Venezuela, Ukraine and Greenland have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace. The sovereign rights of nations to self-determination appear all too fragile in a world of ever greater conflagrations. The balancing of national interest with the common good is being framed within starkly polarized terms. Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination. And the building of just and sustainable peace, so crucial to humanity’s well-being now and in the future, is being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies.”

For the complete NCR report, click here.