Pope Francis marked the 100-year anniversary of WWI Saturday with a bold statement — that the crime, terrorism and destruction worldwide today essentially amounts to a third world war.
The Pope made his statement during a special Mass held at the Redipuglia Italian WWI memorial, where the bodies of 100,000 Italian soldiers are buried.
Citing a passage from the Old Testament, Pope Francis warned the world’s apathy was contributing to a third world war, fought in a “piecemeal" manner.
All this echoes some previous — equally dire — warnings from Pope Francis.
During his first “State of the World” address in January, Pope Francis referred to the “general indifference” of the world in the face of the African European refugee crisis.
It’s not unusual for the Pope to call for an end to conflicts — he is, after all, the Pope. Francis has made numerous calls to end conflicts since his election, including those in Syria, Ukraine and the Palestinian-Israeli war.
But in an unusual move, the Pope did show support in an August interview for military action against ISIS as a means of removing the radical group from Iraq. That’s something a moral theology professor told USA Today was “the most pronounced endorsement of the use of force of any pope … in the last 100 years.”
To learn more about recent pontiffs and their reactions to war, watch this Newsy video.
