During his flight back from Dacca, as usual, the Pope entertained during the flight with the journalists to talk about the pastoral visit. This time a journalist wanted to kick his hand and ask the Pontiff for an opinion on nuclear deterrence as a weapon of defense and if his position had changed compared to that of Pope Woytila.
I ask myself the question "not as a papal magisterium, but the question that a pope asks himself", whether the destructive power of nuclear power is such as to question its "legitimacy" even in the case of defense. I would prefer to ask about the trip first, but I make an exception. What has changed? The irrationality has changed and the 'Laudato si' on the custody of creation comes to mind ”. 34 years have passed since the time of Pope Wojtyla and "in nuclear power in 34 years we have gone further, and today we are at the limit: this can be discussed, and in my opinion, we are at the limit of the lawfulness of having, using weapons nuclear because today with such a sophisticated nuclear arsenal we risk the destruction of humanity or at least of a large part ". “We are at the limit and I ask myself this question not as a papal magisterium, but the question a Pope asks himself is: today is it legitimate to keep nuclear arsenals as they are? Today, to save creation, humanity, is it not necessary to go back? ”. Then he quoted Romano Guardini, about culture and science, and the limits to progress. "Let's think of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, decades ago, - he said - their destruction, and this also happens when even in atomic energy one cannot have all control, think of the accidents in Ukraine, this return to arms, which if nuclear, they are for winning but destroying. I say, we are on the verge of lawfulness ”.