Pope Francis met with attendees of the nuclear disarmament conference that took place in the Vatican and was held by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
The pope spoke frankly about the meaning of countries' constant spending on the arms race.
POPE FRANCIS
“It's a fact that the spiral of the arms race doesn't rest and that the cost of modernizing and developing weapons, not only nuclear, makes up a considerable portion of countries' spending, to the point that they have to put the true prioities of a suffering humanity in the background.”
Pope Francis also warned of the danger this type of armament poses for humanity and creation. He criticized “the logic of fear” hidden behind countries' desire to buy more and more weapons.
POPE FRANCIS
“International relations cannot be dominated by military strength, mutual intimidation and the flaunting of war arsenals. Weapons of mass destruction, particularly atomic, create nothing more than a false sense of security and cannot constitute the basis of peaceful coexistence between members of the human family.”
The pope also wanted to emphasize there aren't only reasons to worry. There are also reasons for hope – like the UN decision that nuclear arms are not only immoral, but also illegitimate weapons for war.
To conclude, Pope Francis made a new call for a culture and society that centers around human beings and in which there are no arms, as utopian as it sounds.
POPE FRANCIS
“Effective and inclusive progress can make the utopian world without lethal offense weapons a reality despite criticism from those who believe processes to dismantle arsenals are idealistic.”
Afterwards, the pope greeted convention attendees, among whom were people from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, sadly infamous for still paying the consequences of the only nuclear attack to date.
