Pope says world should condemn 'very possession' of nuclear weapons

Mohamed ElBaradei, 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner, arrives to attend the conference "Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament" at the Vatican November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in some his strongest comments ever on nuclear weapons, said on Friday that the world should condemn not only their possible use but "their very possession".

The appeal came at the start of a two-day conference on nuclear disarmament that has brought together 11 Nobel Peace Prize winners, as well as United Nations and NATO officials, discussing prospects for a world free of nuclear weapons.

Addressing the group, Francis spoke of "the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental effects of any employment of nuclear devices" and added:

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin (C) attends the conference "Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament" at the Vatican, November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

"If we also take into account the risk of an accidental detonation as a result of error of any kind, the threat of their use, as well as their very possession, is to be firmly condemned."

Cardinal Peter Turkson talks with reporters during the conference "Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament" at the Vatican, November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing by Ralph Boulton)

Cardinal Peter Turkson talks with reporters during the conference "Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament" at the Vatican, November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), talks with reporters during the conference "Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament" at the Vatican November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin attends the conference "Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament" at the Vatican, November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Congress participants attend the conference "Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament" at the Vatican, November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), who was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, talks with reporters during the conference "Perspectives for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament" at the Vatican November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile