The Vatican Secretary for Relations with the State His Excellency Archbishop Paul Gallagher, while addressing the United Nations General Assembly during the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, urged the governments to do more to prevent wars, protect human dignity and work for a nuclear-free world. His Grace Archbishop Paul described the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change as two positive signs of hope but expressed his concern that nations must do more to implement the legal and political commitments enshrined in those agreements.
As reported by Vatican Radio, His Excellency Archbishop Paul remarked that “All countries should take a decisive and urgent step back from the present escalation of military preparations, the largest countries and those who have a stronger tradition of respecting human rights should be the first to perform generous actions of pacification..”
His Grace Archbishop Paul Gallagher concluded his addressing by condemning the proliferation of weapons, calling for much stricter arms control and reiterated in particular the urgent appeal of His Holiness Pope Francis for the prohibition and abolition of nuclear weapons.
