Archbishop Timothy Broglio warns that U.S. troops could decline morally unjust orders to invade Greenland, criticizing Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric.
Newsroom (20/01/2026 Gaudium Press ) Archbishop Timothy Broglio, leader of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, has issued one of the most forceful rebukes yet from a senior Catholic prelate to American military policy under President Donald Trump. In remarks to the BBC on Jan. 18, Broglio said U.S. troops “in good conscience” could refuse orders to invade Greenland, calling such an operation unjustifiable under Catholic teaching on just war.
“I cannot see any circumstances in which an American military operation to take control of Greenland or another ally’s territory could fulfill the criteria for a just war,” Broglio said, underscoring that military action against a NATO partner would contradict moral and international norms. “Greenland is a territory of Denmark. Denmark is an ally. It does not seem really reasonable that the United States would attack and occupy a friendly nation.”
The archbishop’s warning comes amid escalating tension between Washington and Copenhagen following Trump’s repeated insistence that the U.S. should “take control” of Greenland, even by force if necessary. The president has publicly threatened tariffs on Denmark and other European countries unless a sale of the territory is agreed upon, telling reporters that “military force is an option.” When asked directly whether he would use force to take the territory, Trump replied, “No comment.”
A Moral Crisis for Soldiers
Broglio, who previously served as a Vatican diplomat and led the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops until last November, said he worries deeply for Catholic service members who may one day face such an order. “They could be put in a situation where they’re being ordered to do something which is morally questionable,” he said. “Strictly speaking, it would be morally acceptable to disobey that order, but that’s perhaps putting that individual in an untenable situation.”
He added that military clergy and commanders alike bear responsibility for ensuring that moral principles are not eclipsed by political directives. “We do have international law and we do have moral principles that should guide all of us,” he said in response to comments from Trump dismissing the role of international law in shaping U.S. policy. The president had recently said the only thing limiting his actions abroad was “my own morality.”
Tarnishing America’s Image
Broglio accused the administration’s rhetoric of “tarnishing the image of the United States,” warning that threats against allied nations send a dangerous signal to the world. He noted that existing treaties already permit the U.S. to maintain military installations in Greenland, including those central to missile defense systems. Trump has justified his push to acquire Greenland as vital to building his “Golden Dome” missile defense program, but Broglio said that argument ignores the country’s existing defense arrangements with Denmark.
The archbishop’s remarks echoed his broader criticism of recent U.S. military conduct. Just weeks earlier, he condemned a naval strike that resulted in the deaths of all personnel aboard a vessel believed to be carrying narcotics. “The end never justifies the means,” Broglio said at the time, calling the deliberate killing of survivors “illegal and immoral.” He argued the suspects could have been detained and tried in court rather than executed at sea.
Growing Concerns Among Church Leaders
Broglio’s comments come as other senior figures in the U.S. Catholic hierarchy express alarm over America’s shifting global stance. In a joint statement released Jan. 19, Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago, Robert McElroy of Washington, and Joseph Tobin of Newark warned that the nation has entered “the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War.”
Lamenting what they called the “partisan reduction” of questions about sovereignty, peace, and human dignity, the cardinals urged a return to moral principles rooted in Catholic social teaching. “We renounce war as an instrument for narrow national interests,” they wrote. “Military action must be seen only as a last resort in extreme situations, not a normal instrument of national policy.”
Their statement cited recent remarks by Pope Leo to the Vatican diplomatic corps, in which the pontiff denounced “a diplomacy based on force” and the resurgence of a “zeal for war.” The pope warned that nations once committed to respecting borders were now undermining the postwar international order. “Peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion,” he said.
A Call for Moral Foreign Policy
The American cardinals embraced the pope’s vision, calling for a foreign policy that “respects and advances the right to human life, religious liberty, and the enhancement of human dignity throughout the world.” For pastors and policymakers alike, they said, the Church’s message is clear: peace built on justice and dialogue must replace war driven by fear or ambition.
For Broglio, the issue is especially personal. As pastor to American Catholics in uniform, he bears what he called “a grave moral responsibility” to guide them amid increasingly complex and politicized military decisions. “Men and women under my charge are being forced into situations that are not necessary,” he said. His latest comments suggest a widening moral rift between the Church’s teaching and Washington’s evolving view of power—a rift that, for millions of soldiers of faith, could soon carry life-or-death implications.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from The Pillar
Related Images:
