Pope Francis has published a message on the occasion of the World Water Day, observed on 22 March. On the social network, X (formerly Twitter) the Pope sent the message to raise awareness about its scarcity in some parts of the world.
Specifically, the Holy Father has denounced that many resources could be used for an equitable distribution of water and yet they are used for the production of weapons.
“Today, enormous financial resources and innovative technologies, which could be used to make water a source of life and progress for all, are diverted towards the production of weapons,” laments the Pontiff.
For this reason, Pope Francis assures that “never before has it been so urgent to invest in dialogue and peace.”
On several occasions, the Holy Father has denounced the illicit arms trade. In September 2023 he stressed that we live under an “apocalyptic threat”, increased by the number and power of nuclear weapons as well as weapons technologies.
In March 2022, he asserted that the sale of weapons would not achieve peace in Ukraine and pointed out that the true answer to this war “is not more weapons or more sanctions.”
For the Holy Father, “using weapons to resolve conflicts is a sign of weakness and fragility,” while “negotiating, mediating and conciliating requires courage.”
Likewise, during an audience granted to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See in January 2022, Pope Francis denounced that “all conflicts are facilitated by the abundance of weapons available and the lack of scruples of those in charge of disseminating them.”