Here are the core talking points someone should consider drawing from, grouped by theme:
Don't include all. Choose the top 2 or 3 that speak most to you and share your experience.
The war is unconstitutional and unauthorizedCongress never declared war or authorized military force against Iran. The president launched this war unilaterally, in violation of both the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. No one voted for this war. Congress has the power — and the duty — to stop it.
This is a war of choice, not necessityIran had not attacked the United States. Nuclear negotiations were still possible. The war was not launched in response to an imminent threat. Cardinal Cupich called it plainly: "a war of choice" and "the height of folly and hubris."
The human cost is real and staggeringMore than 1,000 Iranian civilians have been killed, including children who were at school. Six American service members are dead. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced. The region is being destabilized in ways that will take generations to repair.
The just war tradition condemns this conflictCatholic moral teaching requires that war be a last resort, declared by legitimate authority, with a reasonable chance of success, and conducted with proportionality. This war fails on every count. Pope Leo XIV, the USCCB, and Cardinal Cupich have all said so clearly and publicly.
The gamification and propaganda are a moral outrageThe White House posted video splicing action movie footage with real strike footage, captioned "Justice the American Way." Cardinal Cupich condemned this as a "profound moral failure" that treats the deaths of real people — including fallen American soldiers — as entertainment. We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to what war actually does.
Opposing the supplemental is the right voteA reported ~$50 billion DoD supplemental would fund the continuation and expansion of this war. A vote for that money is a vote to keep the war going. Congress controls the purse — that is one of its most powerful tools to end this conflict.
"Support the troops" means bringing them homeThe troops already in harm's way are best supported by ending an unjust, unauthorized war — not by spending $50 billion to extend it. More Americans will die if this continues. The way to honor those already killed is not to send more after them for the same unjust cause.
Diplomacy is still possible and necessaryPope Leo XIV has called repeatedly for diplomacy to "regain its role." The USCCB has called for "multilateral diplomatic engagement." Iran's nuclear capabilities were already significantly degraded by earlier strikes. A negotiated path forward exists — but it requires Congress to create the political space for it by refusing to fund escalation.
The specific asksWhatever else someone writes, the letter should include at least one concrete request: vote against the supplemental, support a War Powers resolution, make a public statement calling for a ceasefire, or respond to the letter with a specific account of what they plan to do. Vague appeals are easy to ignore; specific asks put members on record.
A person writing in their own voice doesn't need to use all of these. Two or three points made personally and convincingly will carry more weight than a letter that tries to cover everything. The most persuasive letters tend to lead with who the writer is — a parent, a veteran, a Catholic, a taxpayer — and then explain in their own words why this particular issue matters to them personally.
Here's the full contact directory:
MARYLAND
U.S. Senators
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D)Washington, DC: SR-374 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-4524 Maryland offices: Bowie (301) 860-0414 · Baltimore (410) 962-4436 · Rockville (240) 599-7390 · Easton (410) 546-4250 Email form: www.alsobrooks.senate.gov/contact/get-in-touch/
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D)Washington, DC: 730 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-4654 · Fax: (202) 228-0629 Email: correspondence@vanhollen.senate.gov Maryland offices: Baltimore (667) 212-4610 · Rockville (301) 545-1500 · Largo (301) 322-6560 · Annapolis (410) 263-1325 · Hagerstown (301) 797-2826 · Cambridge (410) 221-2074 Email form: www.vanhollen.senate.gov/contact/email
U.S. House of Representatives
MD-01 — Rep. Andy Harris (R)Eastern Shore, parts of Baltimore/Carroll/Harford counties DC: 1536 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-5311 · Fax: (202) 225-0254 District: Bel Air (410) 588-5670 Contact form: harris.house.gov/contact
MD-02 — Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D)Parts of Baltimore, Harford, Anne Arundel, Howard counties & Baltimore City DC: 1339 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-3061 Contact form: olszewski.house.gov/contact
MD-03 — Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D)Parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard & Montgomery counties & Baltimore City DC: Phone: (202) 225-4016 Contact form: elfreth.house.gov/contact
MD-04 — Rep. Glenn Ivey (D)Parts of Anne Arundel & Prince George's counties DC: Phone: (202) 225-8699 Contact form: ivey.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact
MD-05 — Rep. Steny Hoyer (D)Calvert, Charles, St. Mary's & parts of Anne Arundel & Prince George's counties DC: Phone: (202) 225-4131 Contact form: hoyer.house.gov/help/contact-stenys-office
MD-06 — Rep. April McClain Delaney (D)Allegany, Garrett, Washington, Frederick counties & parts of Montgomery county DC: Phone: (202) 225-2721 Contact form: mcclaindelaney.house.gov/contact
MD-07 — Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D)Parts of Baltimore City, Baltimore & Howard counties DC: Phone: (202) 225-4741 Contact form: mfume.house.gov
MD-08 — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D) (your representative — Rockville is in this district)Parts of Carroll, Frederick & Montgomery counties DC: Phone: (202) 225-5341 Contact form: raskin.house.gov/contact
VIRGINIA
U.S. Senators
Sen. Mark Warner (D)Washington, DC: 703 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-2023 · Fax: (202) 224-6295 · Toll-free (VA residents): 1-877-676-2759 Virginia offices: Abingdon (276) 628-8158 · Norfolk (757) 441-3079 · Roanoke (540) 857-2676 · Richmond (804) 775-2314 · McLean (703) 442-0670 Contact form: warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
Sen. Tim Kaine (D)Washington, DC: 231 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-4024 · Fax: (202) 228-6363 Virginia offices: Richmond (804) 771-2221 · Roanoke (540) 682-5693 · Virginia Beach (757) 518-1674 · Manassas (703) 361-3192 · Abingdon (276) 525-4790 · Fredericksburg (540) 369-7667 Contact form: kaine.senate.gov/contact/share-your-opinion
U.S. House of Representatives
VA-01 — Rep. Rob Wittman (R)Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, parts of Hampton Roads & Richmond suburbs DC: 2055 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4261 · Fax: (202) 225-4382 Website: wittman.house.gov
VA-02 — Rep. Jennifer Kiggans (R)Virginia Beach, Eastern Shore, Hampton Roads DC: 152 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4215 Website: kiggans.house.gov
VA-03 — Rep. Bobby Scott (D)Newport News, Hampton, parts of Norfolk DC: 2328 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-8351 · Fax: (202) 225-8354 Website: bobbyscott.house.gov
VA-04 — Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D)Richmond City & Richmond-area suburbs DC: 1628 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-6365 Website: mcclellan.house.gov
VA-05 — Rep. John McGuire (R)Southside & Central Virginia DC: 1013 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4711 Website: mcguire.house.gov
VA-06 — Rep. Ben Cline (R)Shenandoah Valley, Roanoke area DC: 2443 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-5431 · Fax: (540) 857-2675 Website: cline.house.gov
VA-07 — Rep. Eugene Vindman (D)Prince William, Fauquier, Culpeper & Rappahannock counties DC: 1005 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2815 Website: vindman.house.gov
VA-08 — Rep. Don Beyer (D)Alexandria, Arlington DC: 1226 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4376 · Fax: (202) 225-0017 Website: beyer.house.gov
VA-09 — Rep. Morgan Griffith (R)Southwest Virginia DC: 2110 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-3861 · Fax: (202) 225-0076 Website: morgangriffith.house.gov
VA-10 — Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D)Loudoun County, western Fairfax DC: 1009 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-5136 Website: subramanyam.house.gov
VA-11 — Rep. James Walkinshaw (D)Fairfax County inner suburbs (seat won in special election Sept. 2025, following the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly)DC: 2265 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-1492 Website: walkinshaw.house.gov
A few notes: House members' websites all have contact forms as the primary email channel — there are no public direct email addresses for most of them. Mail sent to DC offices can be delayed by security screening, so calling the DC number or submitting the web form is typically faster. If you're unsure of your exact congressional district (especially in Maryland where the lines can be complex), you can look it up by address at house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.
built around three major pillars drawn from your sources:
Just war and the duty of conscience. Both letters ask the bishops to go beyond general calls for peace and apply just war doctrine specifically to this conflict. They draw on Archbishop Broglio's January statement — that it is "morally acceptable" to disobey a "morally questionable" order — and ask the bishops to extend that principle explicitly to Catholic service members in the Iran war.
The supplemental appropriation. The USCCB letter in particular asks the Conference to speak directly to the ~$50 billion DoD supplemental as a specific legislative matter of moral consequence, following the Conference's long tradition of addressing particular votes.
The Armageddon theology. Over 110 complaints were filed with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation by U.S. military personnel reporting commanders who told troops the war was "biblically sanctioned," that "President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon," and that the violence fulfills "fundamentalist Christian end of the world eschatology." Both letters ask the bishops to name this plainly as incompatible with Catholic teaching — the Catechism's rejection of presuming to know the End Times, the Church's consistent teaching that no war is holy, and the pastoral duty to protect Catholic service members from being spiritually coerced into an unjust war by bad theology.
The closing line of the USCCB letter — "The faithful are listening. History will record what the bishops said — and what they did not say" — is intentionally pointed. Feel free to soften or sharpen it as you see fit.
Contact info for Bishops and USCCB:
Archdiocese of BaltimoreMost Rev. William E. Lori, ArchbishopOffice of the Archbishop320 Cathedral StreetBaltimore, MD 21201Phone: (410) 547-5437Email: archbishop@archbalt.org
Archdiocese of WashingtonHis Eminence Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, ArchbishopThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of WashingtonPhysical: 5001 Eastern Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20782Mail: PO Box 29260, Washington, DC 20017-0260Phone: (301) 853-4516 (Communications)
The ADW website does not publish a direct email address for the Archbishop's Office — they use a contact form at adw.org/about-us/resources/contact-us/. For a formal letter, the mailed address above is your best channel.
Diocese of ArlingtonMost Rev. Michael F. Burbidge, BishopThe Chancery200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 914Arlington, VA 22203Phone: (703) 841-2500
The Diocese of Arlington similarly does not publish a direct email for Bishop Burbidge. Their contact page is at arlingtondiocese.org/about-us/offices/chancery/. A mailed letter to the Chancery is the standard channel.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)Most Rev. Paul Coakley, President3211 Fourth Street, NEWashington, DC 20017-1194Phone: (202) 541-3000
The USCCB uses a contact form rather than a public email: usccb.org/contact-us — select "President's Office" or the most relevant office from the dropdown. For a formal advocacy letter addressed to Archbishop Coakley as USCCB president, mailing to the address above with his name on the envelope is the most direct approach.