VATICAN CITY — The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published an op-ed in its May 19, 2026 edition denouncing an economy oriented to war. The article, titled "Il business dell'insicurezza" (The business of insecurity), was written by staff journalist Roberto Paglialonga.

Citing global economic data, Paglialonga argued that armed conflict had become embedded in the structure of the world economy. "The Financial Times recently noted that in recent months—despite the ongoing crisis in the Middle East (or perhaps precisely because of it)—global productive activity as a whole has continued to grow at an annual rate exceeding 3%," he wrote.

"The techno-defense industry, the oil and raw materials sectors, and the armaments complex are the primary beneficiaries of the global tensions witnessed over the last few years," Paglialonga wrote. He described the present moment as one in which conflict itself has been transformed into an economic model, adding: "Today, what has evolved into a 'business' is a state of 'systemic' conflict, one rooted in fear and perpetual geopolitical insecurity, through which the new world order risks becoming permanently structured."

The op-ed linked the analysis to remarks delivered by Pope Leo XIV at Sapienza University of Rome on May 14, 2026, in which the pontiff criticized elites for indifference to the common good. Paglialonga wrote that while a few winners—the elites cited by Leo XIV—exist, many bear the costs and consequences of a structural war economy, starting with the most vulnerable.

He further wrote that sectors guided by ethical choices contract under such conditions, that the system of international relations and multilateralism is weakened, that the scope for democracy is diminished, and that spheres of personal liberty and privacy are curtailed.