Stop the arms industry and profits from war, says Pope

11 maggio 2015

2 min di lettura

(AGI) Vatican City, May 11 - Pope Francis said "many powerfulpeople don't want peace because they live off war". He wastalking to children from Rome's primary schools on Monday at aspecial audience organised by the Factory for Peace ("Fabbricadella pace") Foundation in the Nervi Room. Behind any war thereis always the arms industry, he said. "This is serious. Somepowerful people make their living with the production of armsand sell them to one country for them to use against anothercountry ... It's the industry of death, the greed that harms usall, the desire to have more money."The Pope went on: "The economic system orbits around money andnot men, women ... So war is waged in order to defend money.This is why some people don't want peace: they make more moneyfrom war, although wars make money but lose lives, health,education." He quoted an elderly priest who said: "The devilenters through our wallets." He sorrowfully explained: "Thedevil enters through greed and this is why they don't wantpeace." He reminded the children that "there can be no peacewithout justice" and asked them to repeat it out loud with himthree times. "Peace must be built day by day and even if, oneday in the future we can say that there will finally be no morewars, then too peace will be built day by day because peace isnot an industrial product, it is artisanal: it is built day byday through our mutual love, our closeness. And in thiscraftsmanship, the respect for people is always at the top ofthe list. Peace, above all, is the absence of war but also joy,which day by day leads to justice, till there might be nodiseased and ailing children: to do all this is to make peace;it is an action; it does not mean keeping still. It meansworking towards providing everybody with the solution to theirproblems. This is how peace is handicrafted. And religion helpsin this because it makes us walk in the presence of God; ithelps us through the Commandments, the Beatitudes, andespecially the commandment common to all faiths: love thyneighbour as thyself. This is what helps us all to make peace."(AGI) .