Arms and the Poor

Religious leaders are fond of saying that spending on arms takes money from the poor. Thus Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit told an audience in Los Angeles: “The arms race is to be condemned unreservedly because it is an injustice, even if those arms are never used. The arms race itself is an act of aggression against the poor.”

The Tidings further reports: “The bishop said that $500 billion a year are diverted to the production of armaments rather than being invested in resources at the service of life. ‘It is a sin that is happening now, an act of aggression against the poor.’ ”

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Michael Novak

Michael Novak was a Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat.

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Religious leaders are fond of saying that spending on arms takes money from the poor. Thus Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit told an audience in Los Angeles: “The arms race is to be condemned unreservedly because it is an injustice, even if those arms are never used. The arms race itself is an act of aggression against the poor.”

The Tidings further reports: “The bishop said that $500 billion a year are diverted to the production of armaments rather than being invested in resources at the service of life. ‘It is a sin that is happening now, an act of aggression against the poor.’ ”