According to reports, a recent confidential letter to cardinals set to meet with Pope Leo XIV June 26-27 indicates that there may no longer be a session that will focus explicitly on “just war” tradition — a possible update from an agenda the cardinals received June 3 that marked the topic as part of the consistory.
Rome-based journalist Diane Montagna reported June 17 that the letter to cardinals participating in the Extraordinary Consistory was published June 16 by the Italian website Messa in Latino and outlines the full program of proceedings. Montagna published a full English translation of the letter.
The official agenda includes Mass and dinner with Pope Leo, and sessions centered on biblical meditations on evangelization, reflections on sections of Magnifica humanitas, and an update on implementing the Synod on Synodality.
Earlier this month, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, had sent a letter telling cardinals about the forthcoming schedule. He stated at the time that two sessions will focus on the new encyclical, particularly on the section on peace as a “prerequisite for the universal common good.”
“In particular, we shall be invited to reflect on how best to reaffirm today ‘that the “just war” theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated,’” Cardinal Re wrote at the time, referencing the encyclical paragraph 192, “and what concrete paths might help peoples and Christian communities to safeguard and build peace.”
WIth the outlined agenda in the confidential letter, it remains unclear whether the topic of “just war” will be a part of the sessions about Magnifica humanitas, since the “just war” question Cardinal Re mentioned in the earlier June 3 letter is not referenced on the schedule.
Montagna noted that the specific question in the June 3 letter is not mentioned on the agenda in the confidential letter, though it does indicate that the second session will focus on the encyclical paragraphs 182-192, which includes concerns about technology used in modern warfare. Cardinal Re’s question in the June 3 letter about just war theory quoted paragraph 192.
According to the English translation of the confidential letter, two other questions are highlighted in the agenda for the session on those paragraphs: “How do the tensions, divisions and conflicts affecting the world today touch the life of our Churches and our peoples?” and “Which languages, attitudes and practices can help build reconciliation, coexistence and peace?”
Montagna observed that the format of the consistory will largely follow the same structure as the Extraordinary Consistory convened in January, and that more time has been slated for free interventions. An additional change is that the 20 groups of participants will be allowed to present their final reports in person, rather than submitting it by email to Pope Leo XIV like they did for the January consistory. Overall, the June meeting “will allow for greater participation,” according to Montagna.
The confidential letter also advises the cardinals that they should not make statements to the press during the meeting and that a press conference is scheduled to follow it. The letter also advises to not reveal which cardinals deliver specific interventions or personal addresses during the consistory.