Pope Francis: "War is ..a useless slaughter that offends the dignity of every person on this earth"

Civilian victims of war are not “collateral damage." They are men and women with names and surnames, who lose their lives. They are children who are orphaned and deprived of their future. They are individuals who suffer from hunger, thirst and cold, or are left mutilated.

If we were able to look each victim of war in the eye and learn something of their personal history, we would see war for what it is. War is nothing other than an immense tragedy, a useless slaughter that offends the dignity of every person on this earth.