The following Prayer-Study-Action resource was prepared by the Pax Christi USA nuclear disarmament working group.
In one month, the New START treaty will expire. It is the last agreement between the United States and Russia that limits their nuclear arsenals. Several months ago, Russia offered to extend the New START limits for another year, but the US has yet to formally respond.
Since the 1970s, a succession of bilateral arms control agreements have limited the nuclear arsenals of the two nuclear superpowers. These agreements have significantly reduced the number of nuclear warheads in the world—from a high of around 70,000 to fewer than 13,000 today.
If the prospect of the expiration of arms controls wasn’t troubling enough, President Trump made an incomprehensible statement in late October about resuming tests of nuclear weapons. (Use this link to read a BBC article on this topic.)
It is still unclear whether he meant testing of nuclear warheads or the associated delivery systems. Any explosive testing would violate the Comprehensive Test Ban treaty and would have negative environmental impacts. It would also overturn United States policy that has been in place since 1992 when Republican George HW Bush was president. To do so without any substantive justification or notification of Congressional leadership is irresponsible. Most importantly, continued reliance on nuclear weapons and deterrence is immoral, and in 2023 the Vatican urged, “all States to continue adhering to the zero-yield moratorium on nuclear testing.”
Pax Christi USA joins many others in urging restraint from the US and Russia and calling for renewed arms control negotiations. At a minimum, the US government should swiftly affirm that it will observe the New START treaty limits.
Prayer for nuclear disarmament
Good and gracious God,
We pray for a world free of nuclear weapons. Lift the fog of atomic darkness that hovers so pervasively over the earth.
We pray for world leaders to come to the realization that more weapons and war do not bring peace. May financial resources be allocated to alleviate poverty, support food security, housing, health care, environment, and educational programs.
Good and gracious God,
We pray that the deadly power of nuclear weapons never again be unleashed on people and Your creation. May such weapons of mass and indiscriminate annihilations be forever banned and eliminated from the face of the earth.
Good and gracious God,
Forgive our past silence, give us the courage and strength to tirelessly raise our prophetic voices to work to eliminate weapons of mass destruction.
Let us remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki as beacons as we commit ourselves to find ways to live together in peace, that we may not be just peace lovers, but peacemakers.
Written by Sr. Diane Smith, CSJ for Pax Christi USA
Study
- “Catholic bishops remind political leaders that nuclear weapons are immoral,” written by Santa Fe’s Archbishop John Wester, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, December 14, 2025
- Virtual briefing: Renewed US nuclear explosive testing? Moving from confounding nuclear testing threats to a constructive test ban policy, Arms Control Association, November 21, 2025
- Pax Christi USA member Jim Thomas gave a presentation on his new book, Atomic Pilgrim, at the national office on November 17. Watch the video on YouTube.
- Seattle’s Archbishop Paul Etienne: The ‘simple yet demanding’ work of peacebuilding in a nuclear-armed world, America Media, October 28, 2025
- 100 days to the Brink: Why the New START countdown demands our leadership from Back from the Brink
- On Tuesday, January 6, “Bombshell” will premiere on PBS’s American Experience program — this highly recommended new documentary explores how the US government manipulated the narrative about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Use this link to read more about it and find local viewing options.
Act
- Annually, the Arms Control Association (ACA) chooses a person(s) of the year. The Catholic prelates from Japan, South Korea, and the United States – including Cardinal Robert McElroy, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop Wester, and Archbishop Etienne – have been nominated for their pilgrimage of peace to Hiroshima and Nagasaki last August. In Hiroshima, Cardinal McElroy noted: “Deterrence is not a step on the road to nuclear disarmament, but a morass. That is why the Church could not continue to tolerate an ethic which de facto legitimates possession.” Vote for the Catholic bishops for the ACA Person(s) of the Year by using the online ballot which is available at ArmsControl.org/ACPOY/2025. There you will find a list of the other nominees and why they were selected. The deadline for voting is next Monday, January 12.
- Host a screening for “A House of Dynamite,” a new film on Netflix that dramatizes the real risks of nuclear war. Use this link from Back from the Brink to find a screening package that can help you host a gathering to watch and discuss the film. The Academy Award nominations are scheduled to be announced on January 22 – if “House of Dynamite” is nominated, especially for a major award, this should increase people’s interest in watching the film.
- Plan an event to mark the fifth anniversary of Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) coming into force – January 22.
- Use this action alert from the Arms Control Association to tell Congress you oppose resumption of explosive nuclear testing.
- Use this link from Back from the Brink to send letters to Congress.
- Use this link for guidance from Back from the Brink about contacting local media.Pax Christi USA also encourages our members to write to your bishops, asking them to speak out against this new arms race.
Use this link to read more about Pax Christi USA’s work on nuclear disarmament.