Pope, at peace meeting with Merkel, says divert arms money for food, vaccines

Children wave as Pope Francis and other religious leaders attend an interfaith prayer for peace at the Colosseum, in Rome, Italy, October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis, closing a peace meeting of world religions, called the arms trade a bane of humanity on Thursday, saying that money spent on weapons should be diverted to feed the hungry and distribute vaccines fairly.

"Fewer arms and more food, less hypocrisy and more transparency, more vaccines distributed fairly and fewer weapons marketed indiscriminately," Francis said in his address at the event in front of the ancient Colosseum.