Pope Francis repeated his claim that we are experiencing a third world war, during his exchange with reporters on his return flight from Bahrain to Rome.

Stretching the definition of a century, the Pope said that the current conflict is similar to World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). “The one is a world war,” he said, “because it is true that when empires, either on one side or the other weaken, they need to make a war in order to feel strong – and also to sell weapons!” He repeated the speculation “that if we didn’t make weapons for a year, we could end world hunger.”

The Vatican News service gave prominent coverage to the Pontiff’s remarks on war, which included his plea to journalists to be pacifists.