Once again, Pope Francis has spoken truth to power. At an event last Monday, the Pontiff spoke to 7,000 schoolchildren, and one of them asked him a question about war. In response, the Pope said, “Why so many powerful people do not want peace? Because they live off wars!” He called the $400 billion dollar global arms trade an “industry of death,” and said that people who profit from making and selling weapons “make more money with the war!”

Even the children he was speaking to can understand that it is wrong to profit off of death and destruction. And, even young people can see that it's harder to achieve peace when we have such powerful forces working against that goal.

All over the world, huge corporations manufacture products that are designed to kill, and allow executives and investors to pretend like they're anything but war profiteers. Just like his comments on capitalism and greed, the Pope is right and it's time for the world to rethink our policy of perpetual war.