Pope describes arms supplies to Ukraine as political decision
According to him, the use of weapons in self-defense has a moral justification, but does not lead to peace
Arms supplies to Ukraine are a political decision, Pope Francis told reporters en route from Kazakhstan on Thursday.
In his opinion, the use of weapons for self-defense can be morally justified, but will not lead to peace.
“It is a political decision that can be accepted from the moral point of view, on the condition of being moral. There are lots of conditions <…>, but [it] would be immoral if there are intentions to provoke a greater war, to sell weapons, or get rid of weapons that are no longer needed. The morality of such an act is determined by its reasons. It is legitimate to defend oneself,” the Pontiff said.
In his opinion, the concept of a ‘just war’ requires further consideration.
“Everyone has been talking about peace, the UN has been talking about peace for 70 years, but how many wars are being waged worldwide right now?” Pope Francis said, citing the events in Ukraine, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the Syrian conflict, the Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict and the situation with the Rohingya people in Myanmar.
In his opinion, “weapons production is the license for murder,” while “if no weapons are produced for just one year, the problem of famine can be solved.”
“The war in itself is pure terror, but we are breathing it in and out now. It appears that when there is no war, there is no life,” the head of the Roman Catholic church said.
