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.
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