On Saturday in Italy, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the Italian military memorial of Redipuglia. Remembering those who died in World War I, Pope Francis spoke out against the “madness of war” and both terrorists and arms merchants as responsible for perpetuating destruction:
Here lie many victims. Today, we remember them. There are tears, there is sadness. From this place we remember all the victims of every war.
Today, too, the victims are many… How is this possible? It is so because in today’s world, behind the scenes, there are interests, geopolitical strategies, lust for money and power, and there is the manufacture and sale of arms, which seem to be so important!
And these plotters of terrorism, these schemers of conflicts, just like arms dealers, have engraved in their hearts, “What does it matter to me?”
It is the task of the wise to recognize errors, to feel pain, to repent, to beg for pardon and to cry.
For the full text of Pope Francis’ address, please visit Vatican News here.
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I agree with all the parts of the Pope’s address except the parts about “Arms Merchants”. That is not Biblical, that is a leftover from the Post-WWI rhetoric of “The Merchants of Death.” Most of the arms used by the terrorists are AK-47s and other weapons of Russian and Chinese and North Korean manufacture. Are they going to pay attention?