In his message to the 4th Paris Peace Forum, the pontiff slams military spending which has exceeded “the level recorded at the end of the Cold War”. In addition to the illusion of deterrence, such expenditures are driven by a market logic that treats weapons “like all other manufactured goods”. Francis opts instead for "responsible hope” in a fairer post-pandemic world.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis sent a message to the 4th edition of the Paris Peace Forum, an international conference on multilateralism that opened today in the presence, among others, of French President Emmanuel Macron and US Vice President Kamala Harris.
In his statement, the pontiff writes that “there can be no peace-generating cooperation without a concrete collective commitment to integral disarmament.” He goes on to reflect on "how to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic improved” overcoming the temptation of a "return to normality" marked by the same injustices.
“The reality we knew before” meant that “wealth and economic growth were reserved for a minority while millions of people were unable to satisfy their most basic needs and lead a dignified life”. In such a world, “our Earth was plundered by narrow-minded exploitation of resources, pollution, 'throwaway' consumerism and wounded by wars and experiments with weapons of mass destruction.”
Yet, for Francis, “Self-sufficiency, nationalism, protectionism, individualism and isolation” also exclude the poor. “Is this a future we can choose?" Instead, the pope warns to undertake a better journey, rulers must heed one urgency, that of global disarmament.
“World military spending now exceeds the level recorded at the end of the Cold War and is systematically increasing every year. Ruling classes and governments justify this rearmament by referring to the misused idea of ​​deterrence based on a balance of weapons. From this perspective, governments are inclined to pursue their interests mainly on the basis of the use or threat of force.”
Pope Francis notes that Pope John XXIII, in his Encyclical Pacem in terris, already explained how deterrence does not guarantee the construction and maintenance of peace.
Moreover, today this logic “has been associated with that of free markets” whereby weapons are “like all other manufactured goods and therefore, as such, for sale worldwide. It is therefore no coincidence that for years we have uncritically witnessed the expansion of the global weapons market.”
In view of this, the pope opts for "responsible hope" and rejects "the easy way of going back to a 'normality' marked by injustice.” Instead, "Hope invites us to dream big and give room to imagining new possibilities. Hope is bold and encourages action based on the awareness that reality can be changed.
"My hope is that the Christian tradition, in particular the social doctrine of the Church, as well as other religious traditions, can contribute to provide your meeting with the steadfast hope that injustice and violence are not inevitable, that they are not our destiny.”
“Let us not waste this opportunity to improve our world,” Francis writes in concluding his message. Instead, he urges people to “adopt decisively fairer ways to bring about progress and build peace.
“Moved by such conviction, it is possible to generate economic models that serve the needs of all while preserving the gifts of nature, as well as [pursue] far-sighted policies that promote the integral development of the human family.”