NOTE: The following press release is from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe announcing a press conference on Tuesday, January 11th, where the Archbishop will discuss his pastoral letter, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament”. Pax Christi USA has eagerly anticipated the archbishop’s letter and we wanted to share the release with our membership who can watch the press conference at the link provided in the email. As we approach the 25th anniversary of our statement on the morality of nuclear deterrence, signed by 75 U.S. Catholic bishops in 1998, we welcome this extraordinary, prophetic letter and look forward to the conversation it generates within the U.S. Catholic Church, supporting Pope Francis’ statement at Hiroshima in 2019, “The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possessing of nuclear weapons is immoral.”
ALBUQUERQUE – Monday, January 10, 2022 – IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, will hold a press conference for accredited media to discuss is pastoral letter, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament” on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. MST via Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83010373874?pwd=QTkvTkZpNDRlbDBiNWd3dU9IRnhWUT09). The press conference will be livestreamed at https://youtu.be/kHS2C1wIBeQ.
Archbishop Wester will release his pastoral letter on the urgent need for nuclear disarmament and avoiding a new nuclear arms race. Pope Francis has made clear statements about the immorality of possessing nuclear weapons, moving the Church from past conditional acceptance of “deterrence” to the moral imperative of abolition. The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has a special role to play in advocating for nuclear disarmament given the presence of two nuclear weapons laboratories and the United States of America’s largest repository of warheads located within its boundaries. He therefore believes the archdiocese has a unique role to play in encouraging a future world free of nuclear weapons. Archbishop Wester states, “The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has a special responsibility not only to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, but also to encourage its active implementation.” He goes on to “…invite us to have a conversation together about what it means to follow the risen, nonviolent Jesus who calls us to be peacemakers, put down the sword, and love everyone, even the enemies of our nation.”
Archbishop Wester’s pastoral letter has the support of four Nobel Peace Prize laureates. Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and the recipient of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize states, “We welcome the leadership of Archbishop John Wester in taking His Holiness Pope Francis’ message of support for nuclear weapons abolition and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to the heart of the U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise in New Mexico. Archbishop Wester courageously joins the global community of religious leaders working to make the dream of a world free of nuclear weapons a reality.”
The pastoral letter and a summary will be available online at this link on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. MST.
This is welcome news. I join many other people of faith and good will who wish our resources be used for the development of better relations and support for humankind as well as all creation.
Great news! let us pray and work for the USCCB to endorse this prophetic call ! Matthew 25:31f
I applaud Archbishop Wester and welcome his courageous Pastoral Letter on disarmament. He is a man of peace, a leader whose integrity and holiness shine out in all of his statements and actions.
I’m so proud to know and have worked for Archbishop Wester. We all need to continue working for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
Archbishop Wester’s pastoral letter is most timely given the “Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races” https://www.transcend.org/tms/2022/01/joint-statement-of-the-leaders-of-the-five-nuclear-weapon-states-on-preventing-nuclear-war-and-avoiding-arms-races/ which attempt to justify their possession of nukes. My response to their statement was as follows:
I am unimpressed by this statement of the nuclear powers. It has been 70 years since their first actual use by the USA against civilians, I might add. The world is on hair trigger alert as evidenced by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientist’s Doomsday Clock now sitting at 100 seconds, yes seconds, before midnight. https://thebulletin.org/2020/01/press-release-it-is-now-100-seconds-to-midnight/ Then President Trump said “What’s the good of nuclear weapons if you can’t use them” plus his abrogation of nuclear weapons treaties shows the likelihood of a doomsday scenario. Meanwhile the USA is engaged in a ten-year nuclear weapons buildup to the tune of $634 Billion including,so called mini-nukes for use in actual battlefield conditions. It is also quite clear that nukes are used offensively daily as the USA’s threatens their use by maintaining a “First Use” policy.
It’s most interesting to note this statement by the leaders of these nuclear states includes “We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented.” This is such an obvious attempt to maintain their unique threat over the world community. If, as they claim having nukes is a defensive posture, why then wouldn’t other states seek such an assurance by developing nukes themselves. All of this is evidenced by the USA’s stand off with N. Korea and its attempts to quash the efforts of other states to acquire nukes.
Clearly, the fact that these nuclear armed states found it necessary to make this statement proves the strength of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which declares all nukes illegal. We must continue the pressure to stop this absolute madness.
A shift of money away from nuclear armaments by each nuclear nation would help the most vulnerable within their borders and remove the cloud fear from the globe. We must continue both praying and acting in whatever way we can to clear our earthly home of nuclear weapons.
I fear for the Archbishop’s safety. May God and we protect him.
Are there copies of the Pastoral Letter available?
Yes, you can order copies of the pastoral letter using this link: https://paxchristiusa.3dcartstores.com/Living-in-the-Light-of-Christs-Peace-A-Conversation-Toward-Nuclear-Disarmament_p_335.html