He Pope francesco warned this Tuesday of the risk of “self-destruction” of humanity for what he calls the “World War III in Pieces” and argued that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is only part of that conflict that “began years ago”.

The pontiff complained “a arms race that seems unstoppable and which risks leading us to self-destruction”, when he writes the preface to the book “A long road to Lisbon”, by journalist Aura Miguel, released this Tuesday.

“The war that has been waged against the battered Ukraine, a bloody war in the heart of Christian Europe, is unique one of the many pieces of the Third World War that unfortunately began years ago“, denounced Francisco in the letter of presentation of the work dedicated to the next World Youth Day to be held in Lisbon at the beginning of August.

“So many wars continue to be forgotten, so many conflicts, so many unspeakable violence continue to be perpetrated,” he criticized, after referring to the conflict that began in February 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

And he added: “We care, we are interested in the fate of millions of people, of many children, who have no water, food, medical care, while the rulers seem to be competing to see who spends the most on sophisticated weapons.”

Among his concerns, the pontiff also included “those who suffer in the silence of the cities and need to be welcomed and listened to”.

“Everything interests us and we care about it, including the digital environment in which we are immersed and which we are called to modify to make it ever more human”, he continued.

In his preface, Francisco analyzed the situation of young people around the world and considered that “the so-called digital natives, the kids of our time, run the daily risk of isolating themselves, of living in a virtual environment for most of their existence, becoming prey to an aggressive market that induces false needs“.

“With the Covid pandemic and the experience of confinement, these risks have increased even more,” he analyzed, before stating that “leaving the house, going out with travel companions, living strong experiences of listening and prayer, combined with moments of celebration, and doing it together makes these moments precious for everyone’s life”.

“Youth is a dream, it is openness to reality, it is the discovery of what is truly worthwhile in life, it is the struggle to conquer it, it is openness to intense and true relationships, it is commitment to others and for others,” he added. Then.

The Vatican summons 30 Nobel Peace Prize winners in June to call for an end to wars

The Vatican foundation Fratelli Tutti, created by Pope Francis in 2021 to promote the encyclical of the same name focused on fraternity, will bring together from 10 June to call for an end to conflicts around the world.

The “World Meeting for Fraternity”, entitled “Not only”, will be “inspired by the encyclical Fratelli tutti”, which the Pope published in October 2020 and has politics, fraternity and dialogue as its form of conflict resolution.

The event, which will be held in San Pedro square with the presence of about 30 Nobel Peace Prize winnersit seeks to “promote brotherhood and friendship between individuals and peoples as an antidote to the many forms of violence and war taking place in the world”.

Among those confirmed are the former president of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, Nobel Prize winner in 2016, and the current president of East Timor, José Ramos Horta, winner in 1996.

The participants in the meeting, the sources add, will prepare together an “Appeal to the effort for human fraternity” which they will propose to the Pope.