As space-based technologies and exploration expand, the Vatican’s top diplomat at the United Nations is warning against the militarisation of outer space – and the lack of a sufficiently strong legal framework to counter such a threat. Source: Catholic Review.
“At a time when conflicts and mistrust are already putting severe strain on the international order, humanity cannot afford to extend an arms race beyond the Earth,” Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia el-Kassis, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the UN, said.
The archbishop shared his thoughts in an October 21 statement delivered at a discussion on outer space held by the UN’s First Committee during the 81st session of the multilateral body’s General Assembly in New York.
The annual gathering of the UN member states takes place from September to December at UN headquarters in New York. The First Committee – which works closely with the UN Disarmament Commission and the Geneva-based UN Conference on Disarmament – focuses on global disarmament, international security and threats to international peace.
Archbishop el-Kassis noted that humanity’s rapidly expanding activities in space – particularly in the realms of communications, navigation and scientific research – confirm a “growing reliance on outer space” in modern life.
According to the nonprofit Space Foundation, the global space economy exceeded $685 billion in 2025, mostly due to commercial investment and activities.
As a result, said Archbishop el-Kassis, preserving space for peaceful aims that serve the common good “is a collective responsibility.”
He stressed that the militarisation of space “poses serious risks.”
The struggle for dominance beyond the Earth stands to “increase the risk of escalation, weaponisation and an arms race,” he said.
He pointed to “the competition for strategic advantage and the development of counter-space capabilities,” which “increase the risk of escalation, weaponisation and an arms race.”
Specifically, the archbishop said he and his delegation were “deeply concerned” about a lack of formal international consensus “on banning all types of weapons related to outer space.”
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prevents nations from installing nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction in space and on objects therein, including the Moon. Also banned are claims of sovereignty over space and its entities.
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Vatican diplomat warns UN of arms race in space, calls for ban on all space weapons (By Gina Christian, OSV News via Catholic Review)
