Pope Leo on Thursday (May 14) decried rising European military spending, which grew last year by the highest amount since the end of the Cold War amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, saying it was a betrayal of diplomacy.

Leo, who has drawn Trump's ire in recent weeks after criticizing the Iran war, told university students in Rome that they should not refer to such rearmament as defence spending, adding that the world was being "maimed by wars."

"Let us not call 'defense' a rearmament that increases tensions and insecurity, impoverishes investments in education and health, betrays trust in diplomacy, and enriches elites who care nothing for the common good," said the pontiff.

Military spending across the continent rose 14% in 2025 to $864 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and rearmament by European NATO members.

Trump has repeatedly chastised European allies to spend more on arms, and signed an executive order in February that would re-prioritize the customer list for U.S. weapons in favour of countries with higher defence spending.

At Trump's urging, NATO in 2025 supported a new defence spending target of 5% of GDP for its members.

Leo has been speaking out against the direction of world leadership in recent weeks. On Thursday, he was addressing students at Rome's Sapienza University, the largest institution of higher learning in Europe.

The pope also warned about the use of artificial intelligence in warfare, citing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran as showing "the inhumane evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies in a spiral of annihilation."

Leo urged some 110,000 students at the university not to "close themselves within ideologies and national borders."

"Together with me and with many brothers and sisters, be artisans of true peace," the pope pleaded.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

ROME, ITALY (MAY 14, 2026) (VATICAN MEDIA - Access all)

1. AERIAL VIEW OF SAPIENZA UNIVERSITY

2. POPE LEO ARRIVING

3. AERIAL VIEW OF COURTYARD

4. POPE WALKING

5. VARIOUS OF POPE GREETING CROWD

6. AERIAL VIEW OF COURTYARD / POPE ENTERING BUILDING

7. POPE ENTERING HALL / PEOPLE APPLAUDING

8. POPE STANDING ON STAGE / PEOPLE APPLAUDING

9. PEOPLE APPLAUDING

10. POPE LOOKING ON

11. PEOPLE LOOKING ON

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING:

''And so, to those who are more mature, the unease of the young poses the question: “What kind of world are we leaving behind?” A world, unfortunately, maimed by wars and words of war. This is pollution of reason, which from the geopolitical level invades every social relationship. The simplification that creates enemies must therefore be corrected, especially at university, through care for complexity and the wise exercise of memory."

13. PEOPLE LOOKING ON

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING:

''In particular, the tragedies of the 20th century must not be forgotten. The cry of “never again war!” from my predecessors, which is so much in keeping with the rejection of war enshrined in the Italian Constitution, urges us to form a spiritual alliance with the sense of justice that dwells in the hearts of young people, and with their vocation not to shut themselves away behind ideologies and national borders.''

15. PEOPLE LOOKING ON

16. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING:

''Over the last year, the growth in military spending in the world, and especially in Europe, has been enormous: let us not call "defence" a rearmament that increases tensions and insecurity, impoverishes investments in education and health, betrays trust in diplomacy, and enriches elites who care nothing for the common good."

17. POPE ON STAGE / PEOPLE APPLAUDING

18. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING:

''It is also necessary to keep watch over the development and application of artificial intelligence in the military and civilian spheres, so that they do not remove responsibility from human choices and do not worsen the tragedy of conflicts. What is happening in Ukraine, in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, in Lebanon, in Iran, illustrates the inhumane evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies in a spiral of annihilation."

19. PEOPLE APPLAUDING

20. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE LEO SAYING (CONTINUES ON PEOPLE APPLAUDING):

"Study, cultivate, safeguard justice. Together with me and with many brothers and sisters, be artisans of true peace, a peace that is disarmed and disarming, humble and persevering, working for harmony among peoples and for the care of the Earth."

21. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING UP AND APPLAUDING

22. VARIOUS OF POPE ON STAGE / PEOPLE APPLAUDING