In a meeting with the Italian Women's Center, Pope Francis expressed his disappointment in the commitment of NATO leaders to increase their spending on weapons purchases in response to the war in Ukraine.
POPE FRANCIS
The real answer is not more weapons, more sanctions. I was ashamed when I read that a group of states have pledged to spend two percent, I think, of their GDPs on buying weapons as a response to what is happening now. Madness.
His comments came as world leaders gathered in Brussels for an extraordinary NATO summit to discuss defense concerns.
Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, NATO countries such as Germany and Italy have pledged to rapidly increase their defense spending to reach the 2% GDP benchmark that was agreed upon by NATO allies in 2014.
The Pope's words were directed to this group of women who work with Christian associations to promote democratic participation and civil rights, but the Vatican will be hoping that they will also be heard in Brussels.
JM
