BALTIC TOUR
Pope Francis warns power is not military strength
Tallinn — Pope Francis said on Tuesday, as he wound up a trip to the Baltic states, all nervous about what they see as a newly aggressive Russia next door, that nations should not measure their strength by their military capability to prevail over others. "Some people speak in a loud voice, full of self-assurance – with no doubts or hesitation. Others shout and hurl threats about using weapons, deploying troops and implementing strategies … That way they appear to be stronger," he said in a homily of a mass in the capital of Estonia, Tallinn. "But this is not about ‘seeking’ the will of God, but about gaining power so as to prevail over others," he said near the end of a four-day swing through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The pope did not elaborate. But nearly 30 years after the three Baltics seceded from the Soviet Union, they look warily towards giant neighbour Russia.
Prosperity is not the be-all and end-all, however, Pope Francis suggested in his homily. "You did not gai...
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