Pope Francis has reminded us that “as Christians we remain profoundly convinced that the final aim, worthy of humanity and of the human community, is the abolition of war. Therefore, we must always make efforts to build bridges that unite rather than walls that separate; we must always help to look for a glimmer of hope for mediation and reconciliation”

The Underwater Defence Technology event in Glasgow is an arms fair by any other name. When the publicly available information promotes discussions and workshops on improving weapons capabilities it is beyond comprehension that the cause could be in the pursuit of peace. As the world faces the greatest displacement of people in our shared history, many driven from their homes by war, poverty, lack of food or opportunity it is a disgrace to continue to squander so much of our planet’s wealth and resource in pursuit of ideologies of destruction and power.

We remember the words of Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace who told those who would listen that it is the peacemakers who are blessed as children of God.