Archbishop Giovanni Ricchiuti of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti, the president of the Italian branch of the Catholic peace organization Pax Christi, denounced President Joe Biden’s decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine.
During the papacies of St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, Vatican diplomats have consistently condemned these weapons because of their potential to kill civilians. In 2008, the Holy See ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an anti-cluster-bomb treaty that has been ratified by over 120 nations. The United States, Russia, and Ukraine are not parties to the treaty.