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Updated - May 25, 2026 05:49 pm IST - Vatican City

Pope Leo XIV attends the presentation of "Magnifica humanitas", his first encyclical, focused on the rise of artificial intelligence, at the Vatican's Aula Nuova del Sinodo, May 25, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Pope Leo XIV on Monday (May 25, 2026) labelled "outdated" the concept of a "just war" put forward by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, warning that "humanity is slipping into a violent culture of power".

In his first encyclical, a sort of manifesto, U.S.-born Leo focused mainly on the rise of artificial intelligence but also returned to an anti-war message that has caused tensions with Washington.

"Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the 'just war' theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated," he wrote in Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity).

"Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness," he wrote.

The Pope has been a high-profile critic of the West Asia war which started with U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran in February.

He condemned Trump's threat to destroy Iran as "truly unacceptable" and urged Americans to demand that U.S. lawmakers "work for peace".

Mr. Trump slammed the pontiff as "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" — to which Pope Leo replied that he had a "moral duty to speak out".

The Trump administration has repeatedly justified its attack on Iran as a way to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapons capability.