NEW: Pope Leo XIV's top three American cardinals just gave their first joint television interview.
On Sunday night, Norah O’Donnell sat across from Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., and Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark for their first joint television interview.
The CBS 60 Minutes segment aired just hours after McElroy delivered a Mass for Peace at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, where he called the Iran war “immoral” and received sustained applause. L
The timing was not accidental. These three men — the only American cardinals actively leading dioceses — have spent the last several weeks watching Pope Leo XIV challenge the Trump administration on war and immigration. And on Sunday, they made clear that the pope’s example has changed their own calculus about speaking out.
Cardinal Tobin put it plainly when O’Donnell asked if the pope should be more vocal: “He’s the pastor of the world. He’s not a pundit.” But the cardinal immediately added that Leo “is going to pronounce on what’s important.” That distinction matters.
Leo has not weighed in on every policy skirmish or culture-war provocation. He has focused his authority on two issues where Catholic social teaching leaves no room for ambiguity: the sanctity of human life in wartime and the dignity of immigrants.
On Iran, the cardinals were unequivocal. McElroy declared the war unjust under Catholic teaching, citing the tradition’s strict prerequisites for a legitimate use of force.
“This is a war of choice that we went to,” he told O’Donnell. He then connected the conflict to a broader pattern that should alarm every American: “We’re seeing before us the possibility of war after war after war.”
Cupich has focused on the moral obscenity of war propaganda. McElroy — who served as bishop of San Diego before moving to Washington — has brought border-state credibility to the immigration debate, acknowledging that crossings “got to a point where it was getting out of control” under Biden while insisting that the current policy amounts to an indiscriminate roundup of people who have built lives and raised American children.
Tobin has been the bluntest on immigration enforcement, calling ICE “a lawless organization” back in January.
When O’Donnell pressed him on those words, Tobin stood by every one. “When they have to hide their identities to terrify people, when they can actually violate other guarantees of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, well I think somebody’s got to call that out.”
The interview also revealed the human cost the crackdown has imposed on Catholic parishes.
McElroy disclosed that Spanish-language Mass attendance in the Archdiocese of Washington dropped 30 percent from the year before. The pastor of the church where CBS conducted the interview asked that the parish’s name and location not be shared — a measure of just how deeply fear has penetrated communities that once gathered freely for worship.