Today's threats to global peace and security must be countered through dialogue and development, not nuclear weapons, Pope Francis told the United Nations.
"How sustainable is a stability based on fear, when it actually increases fear and undermines relationships of trust between peoples," the Pope asked in a letter sent to a UN meeting on nuclear arms.
"International peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of power," he said in the message, released by the Vatican on March 28. The message was read aloud at the UN by Mgr Antoine Camilleri, Vatican undersecretary for relations with states.
