Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday decried "bogged down" nuclear disarmament efforts and religious fanaticism as thwarting peace, while his top justice official denounced torture as an unacceptable, unnecessary way to fight terrorism.
In the Vatican's annual review of conflicts in the world, Benedict warned that religious fundamentalism could "inspire and encourage terrorist thinking and activity."
Benedict also called for reform to make the United Nations "a more efficient instrument" in promoting peace and justice, and urged correct application of international humanitarian law.
Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's pontifical council on peace and justice, was asked if the pope was concerned about allegations of secret CIA prisons in Europe.
The pope "is not condemning anybody but is inviting them to observe the Geneva Convention" on war prisoner treatment, Martino told a news conference.
Asked about allegations that U.S. authorities tortured people in the international war against terrorism, Martino denounced torture as "humiliation of the human person, whoever he is."
"The church does not allow torture as a means to extract the truth," Martino said. Terror suspects "sometimes say what the torturers want to hear. ... There are other ways to obtain the truth."
Benedict's reflections on conflicts and progress in resolving them across the globe was contained in a papal message for World Day of Peace, which the Vatican marks Jan. 1.
The pontiff denounced increases in military spending and took to task "governments which count on nuclear arms as a means of ensuring the security of their countries."
"In a nuclear war, there would be no victors, only victims," Benedict wrote. "The truth of peace requires that all - whether those governments which openly or secretly possess nuclear arms, or those planning to acquire them - agree to change their course by clear and firm decisions, and strive for a progressive and concerted nuclear disarmament."
"In this regard, one can only note with dismay the evidence of a continuing growth in military expenditures and the flourishing arms trade, while the political and juridical process established by the international community for promoting disarmament is bogged down in general indifference," Benedict wrote.
Negotiations are stalled between Iran and the European Union aimed at making Tehran permanently freeze nuclear enrichment. That process can produce material for use in warheads or fuel for nuclear plants to generate electricity.
And tensions have marked much of the diplomacy to persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and security guarantees.
Benedict did not say which authorities he had in mind when denouncing those who " rather than making every effort to promote peace, incite their citizens to hostility toward other nations," jeopardizing diplomatic efforts and helping to "make the future of humanity more uncertain and ominous."