Germany's Catholic, Protestant churches denounce growing arms sales

SUBMITTED ON DECEMBER 14, 2016
By Jonathan Luxmoore
Catholic News Service

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- Germany's churches denounced their country's growing arms sales to the Gulf states and demanded tighter export controls on weapons manufacturers.

"Over the past 20 years, the federal government's reporting of contracts has become quicker and more transparent, while public awareness and debate around the issue has also intensified," said Msgr. Karl Justen, director of the German church's Catholic Office in Berlin and co-chairman of the Catholic-Protestant Joint Conference on Church and Development, known by its German acronym as GKKE.

"But while government policy allows exports to third countries in regions of crisis and conflict only in justified individual cases, the data show otherwise -- this is why we're asking for a new law requiring the reasons for arms exports to be stated," he said.

Speaking Dec. 12 at the Berlin launch of the join conference's latest report, the priest said government licenses and German arms exports had risen 96 percent in 2015 to a value of $13.6 billion, with 59 percent going to non-NATO countries.

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