According to Pope Francis, individuals who manufacture weapons or are investors in the weapons industry should not call themselves Christians. Pope Francis feels that those who support the manufacturing of weapons are hypocrites if they label themselves Christian. He stated his opinion about the weapons industry during a rally of thousands of young individuals on his trip to Turin, Italy.
During the rally, Pope Francis stated “It makes me think of… people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit a distrust, doesn’t it?” He went on to criticize people who invest in the weapons industry as well as he explained “duplicity is the currency of today… they say one thing and do another.”
He also elaborated on comments that he made in the past about events that took place during WWI and WWII. He states “The great powers had the pictures of the railway lines that brought the trains to the concentration camps like Auschwitz to kill Jews, Christians, homosexuals, everybody.”
In April, Pope Francis also discussed the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians 100 years ago when he stated “the first genocide of the 20th century,” which sparked Turkey to recall its ambassador to the Vatican.