Pope Francis, in an excerpt of his new book published Sunday, said the need for United Nations reform was “more than evident” after the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war showed its limitations.

Argentina’s Pope said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February highlighted the need to ensure the current multilateral structure – particularly the UN Security Council – finds “more agile and effective ways of resolving conflicts”.

“In times of war, it’s important to reaffirm that we need more multilateralism and better multilateralism,” but the UN is no longer fit for “new realities,” he added in an excerpt published by La Stampa daily.

The organization was formed to prevent the horrors of two world wars from repeating themselves, but while the threat of those conflicts was still alive, “the world today isn’t the same,” Francis said.

“The need for these reforms became more than evident after the pandemic,” when the current multilateral system “revealed all its limitations,” he added.

Francis denounced the unequal distribution of vaccines as a “blatant example” of the rule of the fittest over solidarity.

The 85-year-old advocated “organic reforms” aimed at enabling international organizations to rediscover their essential purpose of “serving the human family” and said international institutions must be the result of “the broadest possible consensus”.

The Pope also proposed guaranteeing food, health, economic and social rights on which international institutions would base their decisions.

Pope Francis’ new book, I Ask You in the Name of God: Ten Prayers for a Hopeful Future, is due to be published in Italy on Tuesday.