Vatican City: On March 24, Pope Francis criticized increased defense spending by Western nations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “madness”. He also said that a new strategy must be devised to balance world power. Speaking to a coalition of women’s groups, the pope said the conflict in Ukraine was a product of “the old logic of power that still dominates so-called geopolitics”. “I was embarrassed when I read that a group of states has committed to spending two percent…of GDP in acquiring weapons as a response to what is happening now. Madness,” Francis said.
