by Joseph Nangle, OFM
Pax Christi USA 2023 Teacher of Peace
More than 2,000 years ago an event took place after which nothing was ever the same. A fellow human being, who died and was buried, emerged alive and well from the tomb. For us who believe in the Risen Christ, the words of John’s Gospel were validated “the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”(John 1:5) Let us keep this belief fully in mind as we consider the “counter Easter” experience in human history today.
On the fateful days of August 6 and 9, 1945, two nuclear bombs obliterated the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nothing has been the same since. For the last 79 years, darkness has threatened humanity and God’s entire creation.
The opinion section of the New York Times on March 10 published an extraordinary and lengthy (six full pages) special project entitled “At The Brink”; the subtitle explains it: “People say that nuclear war is impossible to imagine. But as our world enters a dangerous new era, it’s time to start imagining.” The article represents the culmination of nearly a year of reporting and research. It should be a “must read” as it is an exhaustively detailed analysis of what the current hour on the doomsday clock (90 seconds to midnight) portends.
Several aspects of this scenario jump off the pages:
- The potential for destruction in modern nuclear weaponry are chilling. Phrases like the following describe what the detonation of just ONE such bomb would cause: “a roar equal to 10,000 tons of TNT would quake the ground”; a shock wave would expand in every direction, racing at supersonic speeds”; “screams for help – and for death – would be heard everywhere, but no help would be on the way.”
- Along with this horrific prediction is the specter of ever-increasing numbers of nations coming to possess nuclear weapons. The total number of nuclear warheads has shrunk considerably over several recent decades. However, today ten countries possess a total of 60,000 warheads. They include such volatile areas as Pakistan/India, North Korea, Israel and unpredictable leaders in these and other countries engaged in a new and ominous arms race. And this is not to mention the real possibility of any number of terrorist groups acquiring this capability, in which case any restraint on their use would be impossible.
- Perhaps the greatest threat regarding the use of nuclear arms is the current rhetoric surrounding them. In a recent statement, President Putin reminded the NATO countries that his nuclear triad (air, land and sea missiles) is “more modern” than any other country’s. Such veiled threats seem to be seeping into public discourse in recent months almost without notice.
- Connected with this listing of nuclear possibilities one which stands out for U.S. Americans, policy we have in the United States which is beyond risky. The U.S. president alone has the authority to launch the roughly 3,700 nuclear warheads in the U.S. stockpile.
Beginning this essay, it was urged that we hold in our minds the Easter event which we celebrate in these gorgeous Spring weeks. While reflection on a threatening Armageddon seems entirely out of place in an Easter week, there is a certain logic to it.
A principal conclusion to the New York Times article was “nuclear war is often described as unimaginable. In fact it is not imagined enough.” For Easter people the issue for humanity is choosing life or choosing death. Similar to the other all-encompassing threat facing the entire creation, ecological catastrophe, we simply cannot look away from the possibility of nuclear destruction. The fact that our Universal Savior has overcome sin and death itself challenges our theology, spirituality and actions with all people of good will to ensure the survival of humanity as we know it.
Joe Nangle OFM is a Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace and the 2023 Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace. As a member of the Assisi Community in Washington, D.C., he is dedicated to simple living and social change. Joe also serves as the Pastoral Associate for the Latino community at Our Lady Queen of Peace, Arlington, Virginia.