“Let us not call ‘defence’ a rearmament that increases tensions and insecurity, impoverishes investments in education and health, betrays trust in diplomacy, and enriches elites who care nothing for the common good,” said the pontiff.
The problem in our situation right now is that diplomacy kind of failed and that we are dealing with bad faith actors and states who are not really trustworthy. We’ve seen Putin agreeing to the Minsk peace treaties while preparing for another big attack on Ukraine. We’ve seen the USA electing Trump and going batshit insane.
So two of the major powers have kind of abandoned the idea that diplomacy is worth anything. You can’t trust Putin, you can’t trust Trump. So you need to be able to defend yourself.
We’ve seen Putin agreeing to the Minsk peace treaties while preparing for another big attack on Ukraine. We’ve seen the USA electing Trump and going batshit insane.
While Ukraine needed the time to prepare its defence and Trump delivered weapons for that.
German energy policy is recommitting to gas instead of renewables while Palantir is introduced to a federal state by the Green party and Germany still buys F-35.
The political alliances are more complex.
Tibet tried that. For quite a while. Then they took the guns and manned the few canons they had. But it was too late and they were too few. They simply weren‘t prepared for an invasion and they had no allies to aid them. You can‘t be truly pacifist if you can‘t defend yourself.
It also works if your opponent cares about the opinions of other countries or possibly whatever amount of conscience is left at home. AFAIK that’s how India gained its independence from Britain. Doesn’t work with aggressive (wannabe-)conquerors like Russia, China or USA, though.
The pope can get Putin to stop his war, then I’ll listen.
Putin needs an exorcist.
Putin started a holy war.
Catholics still need a flat X
Maybe a papal ban will do the trick? Haven't seen one of those in ages.
Oh wait, the predominant christian sect in Putin’s empire doesn’t even recognise the authority of the pope.
Why did I read this as paypal ban and got confused
Because Paypal and Papal sound quite the same. That maybe the reason. I hope you will find out some day.
You see? Papal bans haven’t been widely used for so long that people forget they even exist.
Never heard of the term “papal ban”, are you describing excommunication?
It’s a stronger form of excommunication, issued by the pope himself. It’s supposed to be very strong magic, in the middle ages it had emperors crawl to the pope and beg for forgiveness.
“you should just roll over and let yourself get conquered”
And it’s not like most EU-countries are truly hurting for money, they just refuse to tax their super rich.
Yup. I’m all in favor of militant pacifism (and taxing the rich). It’s crucial for maintaining peace in today’s world. Look dangerous, be dangerous, but only use this power to defend yourself and others from aggression.
The article is paywalled and therefore doesn’t exist. Only the headline exists.
Does it depend on your location?
Pope Leo decries European military spending as ‘betrayal’ of diplomacy
Joshua McElwee
3 minutes
Summary
Pope Leo says rearmament fuels insecurity, not defenceLeo says arms buildup betrays diplomacy, aids elitesPontiff warns against use of AI in warfare
ROME, May 14 (Reuters) - Pope Leo on Thursday decried rising European military spending, which grew last year by the highest amount since the end of the Cold War amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, saying it was a betrayal of diplomacy.
Leo, who has drawn Trump’s ire in recent weeks after criticizing the Iran war, told university students in Rome that they should not refer to such rearmament as defence spending, adding that the world was being “maimed by wars”.
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“Let us not call ‘defence’ a rearmament that increases tensions and insecurity, impoverishes investments in education and health, betrays trust in diplomacy, and enriches elites who care nothing for the common good,” said the pontiff.
Military spending across the continent rose 14% in 2025 to $864 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and rearmament by European NATO members.
Trump has repeatedly chastised European allies to spend more on arms, and signed an executive order in February that would re-prioritize the customer list for U.S. weapons in favour of countries with higher defence spending.
Pope Leo XIV speaks during a visit to Sapienza University of Rome, in Rome, Italy, May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
At Trump’s urging, NATO in 2025 supported a new defence spending target of 5% of GDP for its members.
Leo has been speaking out against the direction of world leadership in recent weeks. On Thursday, he was addressing students at Rome’s Sapienza University, the largest institution of higher learning in Europe.
The pope also warned about the use of artificial intelligence in warfare, citing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran as showing “the inhumane evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies in a spiral of annihilation”.
Leo urged the some 110,000 students at the university not to “close themselves within ideologies and national borders”.
“Together with me and with many brothers and sisters, be artisans of true peace,” the pope pleaded.
Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Edited by Crispian Balmer
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Doesn’t he have a private army despite his security being guaranteed by Italy?
No army, but personal guards (the famous Swiss guards), and a police force. But being in the centre of Italy’s capital, they don’t need one - Italy would need to be conquered first, which it won’t.
I don’t think the Vatikan’s forces can really be called an “army”, they’re about large enough to quell a medium-sized riot.
US Pope
Defensive capabilities can serve as deterrence, and in that sense can actually ensure peace. He should know that much.
“blessed are the πραεῖς, for they shall inherit the earth”
πραεῖς = praeis = meek (closest English word. Not great imo) = Greek word that describes a person who has strength but restrains it. A strong man who yokes himself for the good of his community and for God. Someone capable of force, who is restrained by discipline against their own impulses.
I was on the fence about the new Pope until now, but fuck em. Fuck the pope. I’d rather have the old one back, again, because even though he had shifty ideals on Ukraine at least he was too crippled to run his mouth.
