They may have been only a few words, but they were meaningful ones, which unfortunately come at the same time as the resurgence of war in the Middle East with new Israeli bombings in Gaza.

From Rome's Gemelli hospital, Pope Francis has said he sees even more clearly and lucidly the absurdity of war.

In a letter published on Tuesday morning and addressed to the director of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the Pope has raised his voice once again—so similar to that of John the Baptist crying out in the desert—to reiterate that war devastates communities and the environment.

The world, including Europe, is rushing to rearm itself, ready to invest vast sums to fill arsenals that are already overflowing with weapons capable of destroying humanity ten times over.

The Successor of Peter, made fragile and weak by illness, does not refrain from showing us the way to stop the race toward the abyss of World War III. He invites us to disarm, first and foremost, words and minds. He invites us to disarm the earth.

In a time when even negotiations and summit meetings take place on global television, and where simplified language, demonization of the opponent, polarization, and fake news seem to prevail, Pope Francis invites all people to engage in reflection, calmness, and an appreciation of the complexity of reality.

Above all, he invites us to rediscover diplomacy in a world that seems to have forgotten it, and to give new life and credibility to international organizations, which need to be strengthened, not emptied of their power.

The path should be one of disarmament, not rearmament, as Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, also recalled on Monday when questioned about ReArm Europe on the sidelines of the first edition of the Ramadan Table – Iftar organized by the Moroccan Embassy to the Holy See.

"Those who choose to rearm," acknowledged the Cardinal, "must sooner or later face the reality that weapons, no matter how much they may seem like a deterrent, are destined to be used. We must insist on a general and controlled disarmament at the international level. And this has been a constant in the policy of the Holy See since the time of the First World War."

"Therefore," Cardinal Parolin said, "we cannot be satisfied with the direction we are taking, where, on the contrary, we are witnessing a strengthening of arsenals."