Vatican slams Trump and Vance over 'just war' theory – 'This was before drones'

Vatican slams Trump and Vance over 'just war' theory – 'This was before drones'The Vatican has hit back at Donald Trump and JD Vance, arguing the centuries-old 'just war' theory does not apply to modern conflicts shaped by advanced weaponryCommentsNewsZahra Khaliq News Reporter17:52, 15 Apr 2026Updated 18:06, 15 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesThe Vatican has slammed Trump and JD Vance(Image: AFP via Getty Images)The Vatican has issued a sharp rebuke to Donald Trump and JD Vance over their stance on "just war" theory, warning the doctrine was formed "before drones" and is increasingly difficult to justify in modern warfare.‌The Vatican's editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, said "just war" was developed centuries ago, when wars were fought with swords - not machine-guided drones.‌"This teaching has gradually been enriched and deepened, to the point of recognizing how increasingly difficult it is to claim that a 'just war' exists," Tornielli said.‌His comments come after JD Vance pushed back on Pope Leo's claim that God is never on the side of those who wage a war, saying there is a "more than 1,000 year tradition of just war theory".View 2 ImagesVance made the comments during a Turning Point USA event yesterdaySpeaking at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia yesterday, Vance added: "We can, of course, have disagreements about whether this or that conflict is just."‌The remarks were prompted after Donald Trump branded Pope Leo "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy" in response to the pontiff's criticism of the US-Israeli led war on Iran.Modern warfare poses a "reality that raises moral questions of dramatic intensity," Tornielli said in his response to the vice president. "There has been a growing awareness that war is not a path to be followed," he wrote.US Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbisho...