Addressing delegates at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on October 17, Archbishop Gabriel Cachaia, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the Holy See, expressed deep concern about the rise in armed conflict. all over the world.
vatican city
New York, Friday, October 18, 2024 (Raye, Watkin Radio): Addressing delegates to the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on October 17, Senior Archbishop Gabriel Cachaia, permanent observer of The Holy See, before the Ecumenical Assembly, expressed deep concern about the increase in armed conflicts.
eagerness
Archbishop Katchaya said the current era is witnessing unprecedented threats to peace, with the concept of peace weakening and, in some cases, ceasing to exist. The global increase in armed conflict and escalating military spending are fueling suffering and fear, with particularly disproportionate impacts on the poor, the elderly, children and those living in vulnerable situations.
Quoting the words of Pope Francis in his message to the United Nations on June 14, 2023, he said: “To make peace a reality, we must move away from the logic of the legitimacy of war: whether it was valid in previous times, when Wars used to be limited in scope, so in our times, with nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, the battlefield has become virtually limitless and its effects potentially devastating.
Citing the Holy Father himself, he stated, the time has come to say a resounding “no” to war, to demonstrate that wars are not just, but that only peace is just: a stable and lasting peace, which is not based in the unstable balance of deterrence, but of the brotherhood that unites us.
invocation
Archbishop Cachaia stated that it is essential to pursue a policy of disarmament because the belief in the deterrent value of weapons is illusory. At a time when the threat of nuclear conflict is once again dangerously close to becoming a reality, the international community must intensify its efforts to strengthen and implement disarmament and arms control treaties.
Referring to advanced technologies, the Archbishop said that in an increasingly interconnected world, where cyber attacks on hospitals, medical institutions and educational facilities, food distribution and other humanitarian networks are on the rise, the Holy See supports the creation of such international norms and institutions. . that promote dialogue and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT).