Vatican City • Pope Francis warned Monday that “humanity risks suicide” with the increased threat of nuclear confrontation between the U.S. and North Korea — a threat that will dominate a Vatican conference gathering 11 Nobel Peace Prize winners, top U.N. and NATO officials and ambassadors from key countries.
The Vatican announced details of the Nov. 10-11 conference Monday, saying it was part of the Vatican’s longstanding effort to promote a nuclear weapons-free world. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke denied that the conference, first reported by La Repubblica newspaper, represented a mediation effort by Francis.
The pope has already urged Washington and Pyongyang to step back from the brink of war and accept mediation efforts by others, telling reporters in April that “a good part of humanity” would be destroyed if tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated.