“Unfortunately, the investments that bring the highest returns today are arms factories,” he said at his weekly general audience at the Vatican.
Francis used the speech to appeal for peace, mentioning the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict and the persecution of the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar by government forces.
A record $2.44 trillion was spent on arms worldwide last year, a 6.8 percent increase from 2022, according to a study by Stockholm International Peace Research International.
Russia's war in Ukraine was cited as one of the major reasons for the global increase in defense spending.
America's military expenditure is the highest in the world by some distance, accounting for 37 percent of total global expenditure.
svn
Francis used the speech to appeal for peace, mentioning the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict and the persecution of the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar by government forces.
A record $2.44 trillion was spent on arms worldwide last year, a 6.8 percent increase from 2022, according to a study by Stockholm International Peace Research International.
Russia's war in Ukraine was cited as one of the major reasons for the global increase in defense spending.
America's military expenditure is the highest in the world by some distance, accounting for 37 percent of total global expenditure.
svn
