William McGurn, pictured above, is a member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board and writes the weekly "Main Street" column for The Journal each Tuesday. McGurn previously served as Chief Speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
You do remember President Bush, right? And you remember The War in Iraq, right? And you remember the connection, too, right? The War in Iraq was a war entered into based on false statements made by President Bush and his advisors, and it lasted for something like eight years, and it resulted in 150,000 to over a million deaths - all these statements coming to you by way of Wikipedia.
On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, McGurn's column was titled, "Pope Leo XIV Goes to War." McGurn's basic message was that Pope Leo XIV was way off base in his understanding of Christianity's view of war. The Pope, McGurn says, has given the impression that "pacifism is the only true Christian response to military conflict."
Now, "pacifism" is defined by The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy as follows:
Pacifism is the theory that peaceful rather than violent or belligerent relations should govern human intercourse....
Please note the "should." We know that "human intercourse," historically, has not, in fact, been governed by peaceful rather that belligerent relations, so "pacifism" is not a description of what actually happens, or has happened, but is a statement about what should happen - what would be the best way to try to resolve conflicts. McGurn doesn't think the Pope should be suggesting that "pacifism" is better than "war," having probably forgotten about the Ten Commandments, and that specific Commandment (Commandment Number 5) that is commonly phrased this way: "Thou Shalt Not Kill."
As opposed to the Ten Commandments, and the idea that peaceful means, instead of war, should govern human and national disputes, McGurn proposes the following:
It’s up to the actors, in this case President Trump and the leadership in Iran, to judge the necessity for action and the moral content of their own decisions. Militants may not get the last word, but they do get the first. They have more knowledge of the actual conditions. And they bear responsibility for what happens (emphasis added).
Not to be too "legalistic," but McGurn's statement is absolutely contrary to what the United States Constitution says about war. It says that "war" by the United States can only properly be authorized by the Congress, that part of the United States government in which every American has a "representative." Those representatives are supposed to debate and decide about whether to seek peaceful means, or not, to resolve conflicts.
The Pope says peaceful means should be used to settle conflicts and disputes. McGurn says the president can do whatever he wants, because that's what "leaders" do.
One "non-peaceful" way to resolve international disputes would be to employ nuclear weapons, something, it appears, that our current president is at least contemplating. Past comments by our current president - and some current comments, too - seem to suggest that our current president thinks that it might be proper to use nuclear weapons, at least in some cases. One gathers that the Pope would not agree.
I'm with the Pope.
Message to Congress: Step up to the plate, folks! YOU, collectively, are supposed to decide what this nation does, when questions of war and peace are at issue. You have flamed out! Get with it! A number of informed observers are suggesting that our current president is showing increasing signs of dementia. This just reinforces the fact that it is time to forget the McGurn-Bush doctrine (the leaders can do whatever they want). It's time to return to the basics of how self-government is supposed to work in The United States of America.
Start representing the people! Start doing what the Constitution demands!
