Antinuclear

In his speech before the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, on the occasion of the congratulations for the new year, the Supreme Pontiff said that international relations cannot be dominated by military forces, reciprocal intimidation or the ostentation of military arsenals.

In this regard, he pointed out that it is sad to see how the arms market not only does not stop, but there is an increasingly widespread tendency for individuals and states to arm themselves.

Francis pointed out that ‘it is especially worrying that nuclear disarmament, so desired and pursued in part in the past decades, is now giving way to new, increasingly sophisticated and destructive weapons.

Weapons of mass destruction, particularly atomic weapons,’ he said, ‘generate nothing but a misleading sense of security and cannot constitute the basis for peaceful coexistence among members of the human family, which must nevertheless be inspired by an ethic of solidarity.

The Pope referred, on the other hand, to the floods, floods, fires, earthquakes and droughts suffered in 2018 by regions of the Latin American continent and South-East Asia, for which he considered urgent an agreement of the international community on environmental issues and climate change.

He also stressed that in the light of the consensus reached at the recent International Climate Conference (COP-24) in Katowice, he expected a more decisive commitment from states to strengthen collaboration to urgently address the worrying phenomenon of global warming.