Our Editorial Director reflects on the latest report from SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) that details the inexorable rise in arms sales and recalls Pope Francis constant warnings against ‘playing at war.’
By Andrea Tornielli
“I would point to the hypocrisy of speaking of peace and dabbling in war. In some countries where there is much talk of peace, the highest-yielding investments are in the production of arms. This hypocrisy always leads to failure. The failure of fraternity, the failure of peace.”
Pope Francis spoke these words on November 25 as he commemorated the 40th anniversary of the peace treaty between Argentina and Chile that ended the Beagle Channel dispute.
His words find further tragic confirmation in the data released recently by SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). The arms industry continues to grow, with revenues increasing by 4.2% last year to $632 billion (+19% since 2015).
Tragically, the other statistics tied to this rise are well-known: the number of military and civilian deaths and injuries, destroyed cities, displaced persons, futures stolen from generations of young people, and environmental devastation.
The Bishop of Rome uses the striking reference of “playing at war.” When wars are approached mentally as a kind of “game,” whether political or military, it is a sign that the willingness to address the roots of conflicts has been lost.
Such an attitude reflects a lack of willingness to understand war’s causes and to work toward solutions. It is a sign that the value of peace, the importance of dialogue, and the role of negotiation in resolving disputes have been forgotten.
Moreover, games usually involve competition, with a winner and a loser, which is perfectly acceptable for a tennis match or a game of chess. But when “playing at war” involves states, it contradicts the very concept of human fraternity and international law.
By exposing the hypocrisy of those who seek to profit from war, indifferent to its catastrophic consequences, Pope Francis makes an urgent appeal to the consciences of political leaders and everyone else.
He calls for an end to doing business at the expense of others, at the expense of peace, and consequently at the expense of the weakest and of all humanity.
His is a deeply spiritual appeal, one that requires the intense prayer of the whole Church, especially during this Advent season.
It invokes the “Prince of Peace” to inspire thoughts, words, and above all actions that enable international political life to be conducted seriously, with a forward-looking vision that considers the future and the coming generations.
The recognition that our world urgently needs “honourable compromises”—like the one signed between Argentina and Chile with Vatican mediation four decades ago—must prevail over the “war games” of the powerful.
“May God grant that the international community may make the force of law prevail through dialogue, for dialogue ‘must be the soul of the international community’.”
