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The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, has decried the increasing military expenditure across Europe, describing it as a betrayal of diplomacy.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, military spending across Europe rose 14% in 2025 to $864 billion during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and rearmament by NATO member states in Europe.
United States (US) President Donald Trump has consistently urged NATO allies in Europe to increase their arms expenditure. In February 2026, the US president signed an executive order that would reprioritise the customer list for US weapons in favour of countries with higher defence spending.
The Pope, who has criticised Trump and countries engaging in wars and urged diplomacy and peaceful negotiation of conflicts, said in a post shared on X on Thursday that the world is “distorted by war and war-like language”.
What kind of world are we leaving behind? Unfortunately, it is a world distorted by war and war-like language. This pollution of reason comes from the geopolitical sphere and invades every social relationship. Any simplification that creates enemies must be corrected, especially…
— Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) May 14, 2026
“Over the last year, the growth in military expenditure around the world and in Europe has been enormous. Rearmament increases tensions and insecurity, drains investments from education and healthcare, undermines trust in diplomacy, and enriches elites who care nothing for the common good. This should not be called ‘defence,” the Pope said.
He also warned against the development and application of artificial intelligence in warfare to prevent conflicts from escalating, citing the ongoing wars in Ukraine, Gaza, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Iran, which have led to the deaths of thousands, displaced millions, and triggered humanitarian crises.
“Study, research, and investment should move in the opposite direction and become a radical ‘yes’ to life! Yes to innocent life, yes to young life, yes to the lives of people who cry out for peace and justice!,” he added.
“Events in Ukraine, Gaza and the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Iran describe the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies, which creates a spiral of annihilation.”
