Source: VaticanNews portal reports on the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Military Balance 2026, noting global military spending at $2.63 trillion (up 2.5%) with Europe surging 12.6%, and quoting “Pope Leo XIV” appealing for funds to be diverted from armaments to health systems, calling health a “universal right” and urging reactivation of “multilateral mechanisms” to mediate conflicts. The article completely omits any reference to the Social Kingship of Christ, the Catholic doctrine of just war, or the duty of states to defend the common good against anti-Christian forces, instead promoting a naturalistic, humanistic vision of peace that is heretical in its rejection of supernatural order.

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The Heresy of Naturalistic Pacifism in the Conciliar Sect’s “Peace” Rhetoric

The cited article from the VaticanNews portal presents a report on global military expenditure and the appeal of “Pope Leo XIV” to redirect defense budgets toward health care, framed within the conciliar sect’s consistent reduction of Catholic social teaching to secular humanitarianism. This perspective is not merely a political opinion but a fundamental denial of the Catholic doctrine of the Social Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as defined by the pre-conciliar Magisterium. The analysis below exposes the theological bankruptcy of this position by confronting it with the unchanging teachings of the Church before the revolution of Vatican II.

1. Factual and Theological Deconstruction: The Omission of Christ’s Royal Authority

The article’s central thesis—that military spending should be curtailed in favor of health investment—rests on an implicit premise: the state’s primary duty is to temporal welfare (health), not to the defense of a divinely ordered society. This premise is directly condemned by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical Quas Primas (1925), which established the feast of Christ the King precisely to combat the secularism that had “removed Jesus Christ and His most holy law from… public life.” Pius XI declared:

“The Kingdom of our Savior encompasses all men… He is the author of prosperity and true happiness for individual citizens as well as for the state: The state is happy not by one means, and man by another; for the state is nothing else than a harmonious association of men.” (§28)

The Pope further instructed rulers:

“Let rulers of states therefore not refuse public veneration and obedience to the reigning Christ, but let them fulfill this duty themselves and with their people, if they wish to maintain their authority inviolate and contribute to the increase of their homeland’s happiness.” (§28)

The conciliar sect’s position, as voiced by “Leo XIV,” violates this doctrine by reducing the state’s purpose to the provision of health—a natural good—while ignoring its supernatural obligation to recognize Christ’s law in its legislation, defense policy, and international relations. Pius XI warned that when “God and Jesus Christ… were removed from laws and states… the foundations of that authority were destroyed.” The current appeal is a direct continuation of the secularism Pius XI condemned, now disguised as pastoral concern.

2. The Heresy of “Health as a Universal Right”: A Naturalistic Subversion

The phrase “health is a universal right whose access cannot be limited” is not Catholic teaching but a modern, secular-humanist slogan. It contradicts the Syllabus of Errors of Pope Pius IX (1864), which condemns the proposition:

“Moral laws do not stand in need of the divine sanction, and it is not at all necessary that human laws should be made conformable to the laws of nature and receive their power of binding from God.” (Error #56)

Catholic doctrine holds that all true rights flow from God and are ordered to the supernatural end of man. The right to life and health is subordinate to the right to salvation and the duty of the state to protect the Faith. By elevating “health” to a “universal right” independent of God’s law, “Leo XIV” preaches the naturalism condemned by Pius IX. Furthermore, the Syllabus anathematizes:

“The civil power may interfere in matters relating to religion, morality and spiritual government: hence, it can pass judgment on the instructions issued for the guidance of consciences…” (Error #44)

Yet “Leo XIV” implicitly grants the state the authority to prioritize health spending over defense, based on a secular “right,” thereby subjecting the supernatural order (the defense of Christendom) to a naturalistic calculus. This is the essence of Modernism: the subordination of the supernatural to the natural, condemned by St. Pius X in Pascendi Dominici gregis (1907) and Lamentabili sane exitu (1907), which denounces the error that “Christian doctrine was initially Jewish, but through gradual development, it became first Pauline, then Johannine, and finally Greek and universal” (Proposition 60)—a process that in the conciliar sect has led to the complete secularization of Catholic social teaching.

3. The Denial of Just War and the Duty of National Defense

The article’s silence on the Catholic doctrine of just war is deafening and heretical. The Church has always taught that states have a right and duty to defend the common good against aggression, even with armed force. St. Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa Theologiae (II-II, q. 40, a. 1), defines the conditions for a just war: legitimate authority, just cause (e.g., redress of wrongs), and right intention. Pope Pius XII, in his radiomessage of 1942, reaffirmed that “the right to use force… is a right that belongs to the state, and it is not denied by the Christian religion, but rather defended and confirmed.”

The conciliar sect’s emphasis on “health” over defense implicitly rejects this doctrine, promoting a pacifism that is condemned by the Church. The Syllabus of Errors condemns:

“It is lawful to refuse obedience to legitimate princes, and even to rebel against them.” (Error #63)

But the inverse error—that states must never resort to force—is equally heretical, as it denies the state’s coercive power derived from God (Rom. 13:1-4). “Leo XIV”’s appeal, by framing military spending as an obstacle to health, promotes a relativistic view where defense is optional, not a duty. This aligns with the Modernist error that “the Church is incapable of effectively defending evangelical ethics, because it steadfastly adheres to its views, which cannot be reconciled with modern progress” (Lamentabili, Proposition 63). In reality, the Church must defend the common good, which includes the defense of the nation against external threats that could persecute the Church or destroy the social order based on Christian principles.

4. The Rejection of Multilateralism and the Sovereignty of Christian States

The Pope’s call for “reactivation of multilateral mechanisms capable of mediating and preventing tensions” is a direct endorsement of the liberal, masonic internationalism condemned by Pope Pius IX. The Syllabus anathematizes:

“The State, as being the origin and source of all rights, is endowed with a certain right not circumscribed by any limits.” (Error #39)

and

“The civil power may interfere in matters relating to religion, morality and spiritual government…” (Error #44)

Multilateral mechanisms, such as the United Nations, are based on the false principle of the sovereignty of man over God, where states submit to a superstate that denies Christ’s Kingship. Pius XI in Quas Primas taught that Christ’s reign “encompasses all men… and all is subject to His will” (§24). Therefore, no human institution can override the duty of a Christian state to obey Christ in its defense policies. The conciliar sect’s promotion of such mechanisms is a betrayal of Catholic sovereignty and an embrace of the “synagogue of Satan” (as Pius IX called masonic sects) that seeks to establish a world order hostile to Christ.

5. Linguistic and Symptomatic Analysis: The Language of Naturalism and Apostasy

The article’s language is symptomatic of the conciliar sect’s apostasy. Phrases like “health is a universal right,” “multilateral mechanisms,” and “protecting life” are borrowed from secular humanism and the culture of death. They omit the supernatural: no mention of sin, grace, the Sacraments, the defense of the Faith, or the final judgment. This silence is the gravest accusation. As St. Pius X taught in Pascendi, the Modernist “reforms” everything by naturalizing the supernatural. Here, the “peace” advocated is purely natural, ignoring that true peace is only possible in the Kingdom of Christ (Pius XI, Quas Primas).

The tone is bureaucratic and humanitarian, devoid of the prophetic zeal of pre-conciliar encyclicals that condemned the errors of secularism. Compare “Leo XIV”’s appeal with Pius XI’s fiery words:

“When God and Jesus Christ… were removed from laws and states… the entire human society had to be shaken, because it lacked a stable and strong foundation.” (Quas Primas, §31)

The conciliar sect has not only removed Christ from laws and states but now actively promotes policies that weaken national defense, thereby paving the way for the anti-Christian global order foretold by Pius IX.

6. The Conciliar Sect’s Systematic Rejection of the Social Kingship of Christ

This article is not an isolated incident but part of the systematic rejection of the Social Kingship of Christ by the post-1958 hierarchy. The Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes (1965) deliberately avoided affirming Christ’s reign over societies, speaking instead of “the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the men of this age.” This was a direct repudiation of Quas Primas. The conciliar sect’s “peace” initiatives, from “Pope” John Paul II’s “World Day of Peace” messages to “Leo XIV”’s appeals, consistently omit the necessity of public recognition of Christ as King. They promote a “dialogue” that treats all religions as equal (condemned by Pius IX’s Syllabus, Errors #15-18) and a “human rights” framework based on natural law stripped of its supernatural end.

The IISS report itself, with its focus on geopolitical tensions and defense budgets, operates on a purely naturalistic plane. The conciliar sect’s response is to add a layer of humanitarian rhetoric, creating a false synthesis of naturalism and Christianity that is more dangerous than outright secularism because it deceives the faithful. This is the “synthesis of all errors” (Pius X, Pascendi)—Modernism—which “reforms” the Church by infiltrating it with the principles of the world.

Conclusion: A Call to Reject the Conciliar Sect and Return to Integral Catholicism

The article’s presentation of “Pope Leo XIV”’s appeal is a manifest heresy against the Social Kingship of Christ and the Catholic doctrine of the state’s duty to defend the common good. It promotes naturalistic pacifism, denies the just war tradition, and subordinates supernatural goods to temporal ones. This is the logical outcome of the conciliar revolution, which has replaced the immutable doctrine of Quas Primas with the secular humanism of the United Nations.

The faithful must reject this apostasy. They must adhere to the pre-1958 Magisterium, which teaches that “the state must recognize Christ as King and obey His laws” (Pius XI, Quas Primas, §28). Military spending, when just and proportionate to the defense of the nation and the protection of the Church, is not only permissible but obligatory. The true peace of Christ can only come through the public reign of Our Lord, not through “multilateral mechanisms” that exclude His sovereignty.

The conciliar sect, with its “popes” from John XXIII to Leo XIV, has forfeited all authority by teaching errors condemned by Pius IX and St. Pius X. Its peace rhetoric is a tool of the anti-Christ, designed to disarm Christian nations and facilitate the triumph of the “synagogue of Satan.” The only remedy is a return to the integral Catholic faith, the rejection of the neo-church, and the restoration of the Social Kingship of Christ over all aspects of life—including the legitimate defense of the nation.

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TAGS: Social Kingship of Christ, Quas Primas, Pius XI, Syllabus of Errors, Pius IX, Just War, Leo XIV, Vatican II, Modernism, Naturalism

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Source:
Global defence spending rises amid geopolitical tensions   (vaticannews.va)
Date: 26.02.2026