J. Daryl Charles

J. Daryl Charles, a contributing editor of Providence, is a senior fellow of the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy. He is author or editor of 24 books, including The Idea and Importance of Natural Law (Stone Tower Press, 2025), The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and the Ethics of War (Stone Tower Press, 2024), and Just War and Christian Traditions (University of Notre Dame Press, 2022). He can be contacted at dcharles@jjifellows.org.

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Iran and the Vatican’s Double Standards on Diplomacy

While the Vatican’s calls for peace in the Middle East are understandable, its failure to articulate the moral asymmetry between Iran, China, and Russia on one hand and the U.S., Ukraine, and Israel on the other is deeply disappointing

Reflections on Munich: The Good, the Bad, and the Utterly Urgent

Although Marco Rubio was applauded on both sides of the Atlantic for his Munich speech, conspicuously absent was any reference to the greatest threat to Europe: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Bullying Allies and Helping Russia is Trump’s Real “National Security Strategy”

Bullying allies, threatening Greenland, and emboldening Moscow are not statesmanship. America’s recent foreign policy risks undermining the very order it once led.

Death and Destruction in Nigeria: A (Well Past) Time of Reckoning

Since 2009, Boko Haram has been committed to violently establishing an Islamic state in Nigeria, with twelve states imposing sharia law.

Capital Crimes and Punishment: The Matter of Justice 

As America grapples with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we must ask: Can theologically orthodox Christians support the death penalty? Should they?

Pope Leo on the Lion and the Lamb

Alas, Pope Leo’s admonition to choose “dialogue, diplomacy and peace” is not within the purview of either Iran’s theocratic vision or its military mafia.

The False Dichotomy Between Supporting Ukraine and Taiwan

Despite arguments that the US must prioritize Taiwan over Ukraine, the truth is that if the latter falls, the former will soon be next

The Spirit of Munich: Unjust Negotiations versus a Just Peace

A “peace at all costs” attitude belies that an unjust, strategically unsound peace that just kicks the can down the road will be no peace at all

Just Statecraft and the Problem of “Peace”

The pursuit of Augustine’s idea of “tranquillitas ordinis” (tranquility of order) is the ultimate purpose of just war theory and just statecraft

Public Discourse, Political Debate, and Natural Law

America’s founders, amid their religious differences, saw the need for interaction between religion and state that neither coerces nor excludes. Natural law reasoning fits perfectly with this model of church-state relations.