A note published on the Vatican News website highlights that, in a meeting held the day before at the Capitol in the Italian capital, “in a global context marked by the recent escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran,” Parolin considered it “positive that there is a general mobilization to prevent the arms race.”

During that meeting, which focused on “Ecological Debt,” the cardinal reiterated the urgent need for “a new look toward a new world, capable of carefully interpreting the challenges and signs of the times that can contribute to peace.”

The Vatican diplomat expressed that the fight against the arms race is an expression of the invitation to use funds allocated for arms to solve the problem of hunger made by Pope Francis in the document “Spes non confundit” (Hope Does Not Disappoint) of May 2024, in which he announced and called for the Jubilee.

The national demonstration, held last Saturday, was organized by a broad network of Italian social organizations, left-wing parties, and peace groups, as part of the protests against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, to be held on June 24 and 25 in The Hague, Netherlands.

“The mobilization takes on even greater importance in light of the latest developments in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, which threaten to expand the war scenario globally; the siege and massacre that continue in the Gaza Strip, and a war that seems to have no end in Ukraine,” stated the call for the demonstration.

Likewise, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Rulers, Pope Leo XIV received parliamentarians from 68 countries, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom he expressed that good political action “can effectively contribute to harmony and peace, both socially and internationally.”

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