Pax Christi USA encourages members to sign on to an action alert from our colleagues at the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns:
As we mark the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, October 16-29, we find ourselves once again on the brink of nuclear conflict. Russian president Vladimir Putin’s recent threats to use nuclear weapons in his unjustified war of aggression in Ukraine have provoked the most direct and dire threat of nuclear war since those grim days six decades ago.
Take action: Tell President Biden to pursue dialogue, diplomacy to avoid nuclear war
It is urgent that President Biden do everything in his power to deescalate the situation, seek a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Ukraine, pursue nuclear disarmament, and refrain from responding with nuclear weapons should President Putin follow through on his threats.
In the words of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, “The moral demands of Catholic teaching require resolute willingness not to intend or to do moral evil even to save our own lives or the lives of those we love.” Pope Francis has repeatedly condemned the very possession of nuclear weapons as immoral, and this month denounced Mr. Putin’s threats and called on all sides to seek a diplomatic solution. The pope expressed alarm at the increased “risk of nuclear escalation, giving rise to fears of uncontrollable and catastrophic consequences worldwide.”
A landmark report published earlier this year, “Nuclear Famine,” indicates that a limited, regional nuclear conflict “would be far more dangerous than we understood even a few years ago… crash(ing) the climate, the global food supply chain,” and causing famine on an unprecedented global scale.
For the protection of Ukraine, of all humanity, and of our common home, we must avoid nuclear conflict, and rid the world of these horrific weapons.
Use this link to visit the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns’ website to take action.
–> National Catholic organizations are also invited to endorse a sign-on letter to President Biden urging him to show restraint and to do everything in his power to deescalate the conflict, to seek dialogue with Russia, and take immediate, concrete steps toward nuclear disarmament.
Read the sign on letter here and, if you are the representative of a national Catholic organization, use this form to endorse the letter. The updated deadline to sign is Tuesday, October 25.
May the Christian world pray about total acceptance and demonstrate our love of 🤶 Christ in this action.
Nuclear weapons are illegal. The use of them will bring the end of the world, or a few living in misery!
Let none of us fall victim to the continual shifting of public attitudes to simply accept the necessity to supply more weapons to the war in Ukraine. Too often news reports seem like a description of a game played on a phone or computer screen. If there are efforts at dialogue and diplomacy being conducted, we should be hearing about them more frequently. As is often the case, an “us-vs-them” situation is subtly and insidiously presented. We must readily acknowledge the horrors that the Ukrainian people have endured and just as readily support those Russians who oppose the war–inside and outside of Russia. We must also pray for and support the ongoing efforts of Pope Francis to hold the need for dialogue and diplomacy in plain view. Shouldn’t this be receiving more coverage in the general media? Let us always support the religious organizations involved in the conflict as they attempt to care for victims. Should we not also pray for the families of Russian soldiers, as they also must hold emotional/physical pain while questioning the “why” behind death/danger that their kin to which their kin are exposed. May we always communicate our concerns to our elected officials, Church officials, and the media so that dialogue and diplomacy can maintain their place at the table. May we always work for a global shifting of attitudes and actions away from war and toward Peace.