Fund hunger and climate fights with arms cash says pope

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 2 - The world must shift to funding the fights against global hunger and the climate crisis with the money it spends on arms, Pope Francis said in his address to the COP28 UN climate conference in Dubai, read Saturday morning by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
    Francis, who has been prevented form attending the summit by a bout of chronic bronchitis, said: "How much energy humanity is wasting in the many ongoing wars, as in Israel and Palestine, in Ukraine and in many regions of the world: conflicts that will not solve problems, but increase them! How many resources are wasted on armaments, which destroy lives and ruin the common home!".
    He went on: "I reiterate a proposal: 'with the money that is spent on arms and other military expenditures, let us set up a World Fund to finally eliminate hunger and carry out activities that promote the sustainable development of the poorest countries, combating climate change".
    A keynote of Francis's papacy has been the fight to preserve our common home, as stressed in his encyclical Laudato sì. (ANSA).