Pope Francis on Wednesday (January 24) has issued a new plea against all wars as he evoked the horror of the mass killing of Jews and other victims of the Nazis ahead of Saturday's Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27), Reuters reports.
The leader of the world's more than 1.35 billion Roman Catholics mentioned the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the bombing of civilians in "martyred Ukraine."
He repeated his assertion that "war is always a defeat" in which "the only winners, so to speak, are weapons manufacturers."
"Next Saturday, January 27, is the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust. May the memory and condemnation of that horrible extermination of millions of Jews and other faiths in the first half of the last century help everyone not to forget that the logic of hatred and violence can never be justified, because it denies our very humanity. War itself is a denial of humanity, a denial of humanity. Let us not tire of praying for peace, for conflicts to end, for weapons to stop, for relief for exhausted populations. I think of the Middle East, Palestine, and Israel. I think of the disturbing news coming from the martyred Ukraine, especially the bombings that hit places frequented by civilians, sowing death, destruction, and suffering. I pray for the victims and their loved ones, I implore everyone, especially those with political responsibility, to protect human life by putting an end to wars. Let us not forget, war is always a defeat, always. The only winners, so to speak, are weapons manufacturers," Pope said.
