Pope blasts 'irrationality' of military deterrence in first annual peace message

Pope Leo XIV insisted Thursday that peace was not only possible but necessary, as he blasted the “irrationality” of nuclear deterrence and the weaponization of faith in modern political discourse. Leo made the comments in his first peace message, an annual exhortation that the Vatican prepares ahead of each New Year’s Day, when the Catholic Church marks its world day of peace.