Members of Pax Christi USA are currently on a delegation to Japan (returning March 17), where they have visited with Church leaders and Hibakusha (survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb) in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In both cities, the Pax Christi USA members have offered a message of apology and repentance for the use of the bomb, for the United States’ continued reliance on nuclear weapons, and for our country’s resistance to disarmament. They promised to continue to work for a more peaceful, demilitarized world.
The delegation has also visited cultural and historical sites, and have enjoyed the warm hospitality of their hosts.
Japanese press have covered the public events of the delegation:
- Use this link to watch a two minute video from NHK (a major news agency in Japan) — It is in Japanese but includes a clip of Pax Christi New York State leader Rosemarie Pace who delivers a message of repentance in English.
- Use this link to read an article (in English) about the delegation, posted on the website of Mainichi Shimbun, Japan’s oldest and one of its most respected newspapers.
- Use this link to read an article on the delegation written by Patrick O’Neill, published in the National Catholic Reporter (March 12)
- The Oleander Institute, which organized much of the visit in Hiroshima, was moved by the spiritual aspect of the pilgrimage, a new aspect for their work on nuclear disarmament.
One of the delegates, Ann Suellentrop, has posted several updates about the trip to the PeaceWorks Kansas City website. Use this link to read Ann’s entries.
Thank you for this story of solidarity. As a child of deeply Christian parents who worked on the Manhattan Project but like so many others deplored the use of the weapons and then who committed the rest of their lives to peacemaking and atonement raising their children as pacifists, I warmly thank the delegation but, moreover, the humanity and hospitality of the Hibakusha for this magnanimous demonstration of the power of love and forgiveness. Thank you, Thank you from the depths of my soul.
In 1965 as a Marine Corps officer I visited Hiroshima. I was warned that I should leave the city before dark as anti-American sentiment was very high there. I witnessed a Soviet delegation in a ceremony at the peace park when a group of young Japanese pointed toward me and ran to me. They wanted to practice their English which we did. As I approached the museum I saw a sculpture like a children’s gym set with children looking upward. When I got closer I saw their eyes were running down their cheeks. Later on a small path an older Japanese man approached me in traditional dress. He was deep in thought and didn’t look up to see he was next to an American until we were nearly touching. The look on his face went from shock, to anger and he spat on the ground between us. I said “Gomen Nisei” (I’m sorry) as he walked away. As a Marine I learned to say “I’m sorry” in several languages. Dan Callaghan, callbookso@msn.com.
Thank you Rosemarie Pace, Bob Cushing and all who made the apology to the people of Japan for the horror of Hiroshama and Nagasaki, August 6 & 9 1945.
We all should be proud of the bravery and humility of the PaxChristi members who went to Japan. Additionally, the sincere and empathetic comment by Daniel Joseph Callaghan, former member of USMC, contrasts with the arrogance, inhumanity, and cavalierism of our Democrat and Republican politicians, most of whom have never lived the hellish experience of war, yet profit monetarily and politically from waging wars. Lamentably, some 50 years from now, the children or grandchildren of these Pax Christi witnesses will travel once again in order to atone for our collective sin of collaboration in the Israeli final solution to Gaza.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD
It was a great privilege for me to be a member of the delegation. We experienced only welcome and warmth and our trip renewed my commitment to building a world without nuclear weapons as a matter of great urgency. I am hopeful that we established linkages between Japanese and American anti-nuclear activists that may grow powerful enough, with the leadership and assistance of the three Japanese and two American bishops who are committed, to convince our two governments to together take up the cause of eliminating the world’s nuclear weapons. But it is an immense task that needs support from all people who love God’s creation and people.