Pope Leo decries European military spending as 'betrayal' of diplomacy

ROME – Pope Leo on Thursday condemned the recent surge in European military spending, calling it a betrayal of diplomacy. He noted that last year’s increase—the largest since the end of the Cold War—was driven in part by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Speaking to students at Rome’s Sapienza University, Europe’s largest institution of higher learning, the pope said such rearmament should not be labeled “defence spending.” He added that the world is being “maimed by wars.”

“Let us not call ‘defence’ a rearmament that increases tensions and insecurity, impoverishes investments in education and health, betrays trust in diplomacy, and enriches elites who care nothing for the common good,” Pope Leo said.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, military spending across Europe rose 14% in 2025, reaching $864 billion. The increase coincides with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and efforts by European NATO members to strengthen their arsenals.

President Trump has repeatedly urged European allies to increase defence budgets. In February 2025, he signed an executive order prioritizing U.S. weapons sales to countries with higher defence spending. Following his pressure, NATO endorsed a new target of 5% of GDP for member states’ defence budgets.

Pope Leo also addressed the role of artificial intelligence in modern warfare. Citing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, he warned that new technologies have escalated war into “an inhumane evolution…in a spiral of annihilation.”

The pontiff encouraged the university’s 110,000 students to avoid closing themselves off within ideologies or national borders. “Together with me and with many brothers and sisters, be artisans of true peace,” he urged.

-Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Edited by Crispian Balmer/Reuters