Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, chairman of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, called for leaders of all religions to act in search of “bold” solutions to end the war. He also blasted the military use of AI as a “despicable betrayal” (infame tradimento), including the assassination of negotiators.
Speaking in Ferrara on March 13, Zuppi warned that war “creates only new problems far more serious than the previous ones. It leads to the killing of those very people with whom one must or will have to negotiate—a despicable betrayal of every rule of dialogue and respect! How can one then believe in the willingness to engage in dialogue?
“To resolve conflicts, we must learn from history to understand their causes—both ancient and recent—which have often evolved but must be addressed if we are to achieve true and just peace. For example, the failure to implement the Minsk II agreements is a major factor in the conflict in Ukraine, just as the failure to implement Resolution 1701 in Lebanon is one of the reasons the dispute between Hezbollah and Israel remains unresolved. Without negotiation, there will only be an endless series of wars driven by the ruthless logic of destroying the enemy. But who is the enemy? Who defines them as such? Thousands of people have been killed—civilians who have nothing to do with the conflict, who have unwittingly and through no fault of their own become targets; some ruthlessly call them ‘trash targets.‘
“Artificial intelligence does the rest. Hundreds of targets are entered into the system, and one waits to see who can be killed and when. Entire families are thus eliminated, struck without knowing or with the presumption of knowing and having the right to do so. Who has the right? And then what comes next, once the war is over? Shouldn’t this be the ultimate goal? Can we accept that people are collateral damage? Where have the sparks of peace gone that should prevent these abominations? We never tire of saying that war is pointless. It is always a defeat for everyone. Even the victor is a loser. Who can believe they can win or completely destroy the other? Only an agreement can restore balance to the situation. Those who think war is the natural order do not know history and have lost their memory. What remains after a war? Destruction, environmental damage, hatred, and poverty that pave the way for the next one.”
Zuppi quoted the late Pope Francis who regretted that the “opportunities presented by the end of the Cold War were not fully seized, due to a lack of vision for the future and a shared awareness of our common destiny. Instead, we succumbed to the pursuit of particular interests without taking responsibility for the universal common good. Thus, the deceptive specter of war has once again reared its head.”
He concluded: “A religious spirit can enable us to work toward unity. May those Christians who courageously built the architecture of Europe—and who did so as Christians for all and together with all—inspire others to boldly seek solutions to make peace possible, to build bridges where there is still a void and walls to overcome, to set up forums for dialogue to explore convincing and guaranteed rights, duties, and safeguards, and to do so with vision and responsibility. May all religions commit themselves to this, for Peace is the name of God.”
