Cardinal Fernández condemns US, Russia, EU double standards on Gaza and Lebanon wars

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, addressed an extraordinary consistory of cardinals under Pope Leo XIV. In his speech he accused the United States, Russia and the European Union of a double standard in their handling of wars, pointing to the disproportionate civilian toll of Israeli military operations in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

He said the EU sanctions one country while providing financial aid and weapons to another, and argued that the theory of a “just war” has become obsolete. Citing the Church’s catechism and the Second Vatican Council, Fernández warned that interventions are often justified as “self‑defence” and lamented the loss of a stable moral framework in international politics.