by Art Laffin
Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace
During his historic visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 2019, Pope Francis declared that “the use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possessing of nuclear weapons is immoral.”
The pontiff said the world “must never grow weary of working to support the principal international legal instruments of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
Francis’ pronouncement was clear: The very possession of nuclear weapons is immoral! Therefore, if it is wrong for followers of Jesus to possess nuclear weapons, then it is equally wrong to build and modernize them, let alone use them.
The Biden administration is requesting $43 billion for nuclear weapons in its budget for fiscal year 2022. During this Aug. 6-9 period commemorating the 76th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, should not all Catholics, including President Joe Biden and all other Catholic politicians, be following the lead of Francis in advocating for total nuclear disarmament?…