Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West he is not bluffing about using the weapons of mass destruction.

He ordered Russia's first mobilisation since World War Two and backed a plan to annex swathes of Ukraine.

Without naming Russia or Putin, Francis told the crowd in St Peter's Square last Wednesday that even thinking of using nuclear weapons is "madness".

Ukrainians are being subjected to savageness, monstrosities and torture, he added. They are a "noble" people being martyred.

He then told the crowd of a conversation he had on Tuesday with Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.

The Polish cardinal (pictured with his ambulance) leads Francis's aid work in Ukraine.

Krajewski had to run and take cover after coming under light gunfire last week, Francis said. At the time, the cardinal had been delivering aid with a Catholic bishop, a Protestant bishop and a Ukrainian soldier.

Cardinal Krajewski also visited mass graves outside Izium, in northeast Ukraine.

"He (Krajewski) told me of the pain of these people, the savage acts, the monstrosity, the tortured bodies they find. Let us unite with these people, so noble and martyred," Francis told the crowd.

Ukrainian officials say they have found hundreds of bodies. Some have their hands tied behind their backs. They are buried in territory recaptured from Russian forces.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says their bodies provide proof of war crimes,

Of the 111 civilian bodies exhumed by Wednesday, four showed signs of torture according to the head of investigative police in the Kharkiv region where Izium is located.

Russia has consistently denied its troops have committed war crimes since it invaded Ukraine in February.

On Monday last week, two days before the exhumations, the Kremlin rejected allegations of such abuses in Kharkiv region. The allegations are a "lie", the Kremlin said.

A contrasting world view

After discussing the situation in Ukraine with the crowd, Francis then spoke of his trip to Kazakhstan which took place early last week.

The central Asian country gave up its nuclear weapons in 1991 after its independence from the Soviet Union.

"This was courageous," Francis told the crowd.

"At a time in this tragic [Ukraine] war where some are thinking of nuclear weapons - which is madness - this country said 'no' to nuclear weapons from the start."

But 75 years ago, the hell of war reached a new all-time immoral low when on August 6, 1945 a United States Boeing B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima instantly killing over 70,000 - mostly civilian - children, women and men.

And again three days later, on August 9, 1945 the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing at least 60,000 people - again mostly civilians. Nagasaki was the centre of Japanese Catholicism.

Since then eight additional nations have acquired nuclear weapons: Russia, China, Great Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.

When one considers the tensions between India and Pakistan, Israel and certain Middle East nations, the U.S. and China, the U.S. and North Korea and the U.S. and Russia, the chances of nuclear war are dangerously real.

Russia and the U.S. possess over 90 percent of the world's nuclear arsenal. And each nation has several hundred nuclear weapons aimed at each other - programmed at "launch-ready alert" or otherwise known as "hair-trigger alert."

Not only is there a real possibility of intentional nuclear war between both countries, but also due to sloppy communications and/or computer errors, Russia and the U.S. have come within minutes of accidental nuclear war more than once.

Furthermore, last year the U.S withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty which had required Russia (then the Soviet Union) and the U.S. to eliminate all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometres.

"Mutual assured destruction" - appropriately known as MAD - is the military doctrine which attempts to reason that since the undeniable massive devastation caused by a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia - not to mention devastating the rest of the world - would be so great that neither nation would start such a war, is catastrophically foolish. It is nothing short of playing Russian roulette with the human race.

Add to these dangers the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review's statement that the U.S. will continue its policy to be the first to initiate a nuclear attack if it decides that its "vital interests" and those of its "allies and partners" are at risk.

On Jan. 23, 2020 the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, moved their famous Doomsday Clock to 100 seconds before midnight - warning how extremely near humanity is to a global catastrophic midnight posed by the increasing threats of nuclear war and climate change.

"We are now expressing how close the world is to catastrophe in seconds - not hours, or even minutes."

"It is the closest to Doomsday we have ever been in the history of the Doomsday Clock. We now face a true emergency - an absolutely unacceptable state of world affairs that has eliminated any margin for error or further delay," warned Rachel Bronson, Ph.D., president of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

In his message given at Nagasaki's Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park last year, Pope Francis said, "One of the deepest longings of the human heart is for security, peace and stability. The possession of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction is not the answer to this desire; indeed they seem always to thwart it."

And with prophetic warning, Pope Francis declared: "The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possessing of nuclear weapons is immoral, as I already said two years ago. We will be judged on this."

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at tmag6@comcast.net.

He discussed the possibility with reporters during his return flight to Rome after his week-long trip to Thailand and Japan.

"The plan exists, but the next pope will do it."

The encyclical is one of many "projects in the drawer" that are "maturing there," waiting until the time is right, he said.

Asked if he believed there could be such a thing as a "just war", Francis said: "The hypothesis of legitimate defense remains always".

Catholic tradition has long held that a nation attacked by an enemy could respond morally to that attack under certain conditions.

These conditions include judgements that the measures taken are proportionate to the damage inflicted and that civilians are not targeted.

At the same time, he noted, in Catholic moral teaching, responding with violence must be "the last resort; the last resort is with weapons."

Before that step is taken, a nation must try "legitimate defense with diplomacy, with mediation," he said.

Francis endorses the continuing development of Catholic moral teaching.

"We are making progress in ethics and I like questioning all these things. It means that humanity is moving forward positively and not only negatively."

Francis went on to praise the United Nations for its peacemaking efforts.

However, he questioned the U.N. Security Council giving a veto power to its permanent members: United States, Russia, China, France and Great Britain.

If "there is a problem with weapons and everyone agrees on resolving the problem" to avoid war, he said "one with veto power can say no and everything stops."

While admitting he is not an expert on the United Nations, Francis said he thought it would be a good idea if all the members were equal.

He also noted existence of "armaments hypocrisy".

This involves "Christian countries, or at least countries with a Christian culture and European countries that speak of peace and live by (selling) weapons".

"This is called hypocrisy," he said.

He then spoke of nuclear weapons.

He said he made his point of view clear about nuclear weapons on Sunday when he visited Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

"I said again that the use of nuclear weapons is immoral; this must go in the Catechism of the Catholic Church".

"And not only the use, but also the possession, because if there is an accident or a crazed government, one's madness can destroy humanity".

"Think about what Einstein said: the fourth World War will be fought with sticks and stones."

Source

• Catholic News Service
• Image: Catholic World Report

Francis said it is "perverse" to think the threat of nuclear weapons makes the world safer.

Calling their use a crime against the dignity of humanity and against any possible future of our common home, the pope called the use of atomic weapons immoral.

"Future generations will rise to condemn our failure if we spoke of peace but did not act to bring it about among the peoples of the earth," the pope said.

"How can we speak of peace even as we build terrifying new weapons of war?

"How can we speak about peace even as we justify illegitimate actions by speeches filled with discrimination and hate?"

Francis said it made no sense to advance a policy of nuclear deterrence - counting on mutually assured destruction - to keep the peace.

"A world of peace, free from nuclear weapons, is the aspiration of millions of men and women everywhere," the pope said in Nagasaki.

Highlighting the billions of dollars spent each year on maintaining nuclear stockpiles and developing new weapons, Francis said it was not possible to be indifferent to the plea of our brothers and sisters in need.

"No one can turn a deaf ear to the plea of our brothers and sisters in need."

"No one can turn a blind eye to the ruin caused by a culture incapable of dialogue", he said.

The Holy See was among the first countries to sign and ratify the new U.N. nuclear prohibition treaty,

Francis himself went further than any pope before him in saying in 2017 that not only the use but the mere possession of atomic weapons is "to be condemned."

Tomohide Hirayama, a former Nagasaki resident who travelled from another prefecture to see the pope, said his religious faith was different but he fully supported Francis' call for a nuclear-free world.

"There were atomic attacks twice in history, and there should never be a third time," he said.

Sources

• Politico
• CNS

The message was released prior to Francis' visit to Japan, November 23-26.

Japan "is very aware of the suffering caused by war," the pope said in his native Spanish.

"Together with you, I pray that the destructive power of nuclear weapons will never be unleashed again in human history. Using nuclear weapons is immoral."

The theme of his visit is to protect all life and throughout his pontificate, Francis has been vocal in his opposition to nuclear arms.

"Peace is beautiful. And when it is real, it does not retreat: it defends itself with every ounce of strength", Francis said in his message.

In a message to the United Nations in March 2017, he told the Assembly that the elimination of nuclear weapons is "a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative."

Catholics make up less than .5% of people in Japan.

Full text of Pope Francis message to the people of Japan

As I prepare for my upcoming visit to Japan, I would like to address to you these words of friendship.

The theme chosen for my visit is "Protect All Life".

This strong instinct, which resonates in our hearts - to defend the value and dignity of every human person - takes on particular importance in light of the threats to peaceful coexistence that the world faces today, especially in armed conflicts.

Your country is well aware of the suffering caused by war.

Together with you, I pray that the destructive power of nuclear weapons will never be unleashed again in human history. The use of nuclear weapons is immoral.

You also know the importance of a culture of dialogue, of fraternity, especially among different religious traditions, which can help to overcome division, promote respect for human dignity, and advance the integral development of all peoples.

I trust that my visit will encourage you along the path of mutual respect and encounter that leads to a secure and lasting peace, which never turns back upon itself. Peace is beautiful. And when it is real, it does not retreat: it defends itself with every ounce of strength.

I will also have the opportunity to appreciate the vast natural beauty that characterizes your nation, and express our shared desire to promote and strengthen the protection of all life, which includes the earth, our common home, which your culture beautifully symbolizes with cherry blossoms.

I know there are many people who are working to prepare for my visit. I sincerely thank you for these efforts. In the hope that our time together will be rich in grace and joy, I assure you of my heartfelt prayer for each and every one of you.

I ask you, please, to also pray for me. Thank you very much.

Source: Independent Catholic News

The KiwiSaver schemes of ANZ, ASB, AMP, BNZ, Kiwi Wealth and Westpac were among those with funds still tainted with exposure to nuclear weapons despite a public outcry in 2016 following. Continue reading

Some KiwiSaver funds invested in nuclear arms industry]]> 122448 https://cathnews.co.nz/2018/04/19/nun-activist-nuclear-weapons/ Thu, 19 Apr 2018 07:53:21 +0000 https://cathnews.co.nz/?p=106167 A nun whose concern about nuclear weapons landed her a two-year jail sentence says it's illegal to deal in weapons of mass destruction. "Immoral and illegal," Sister Megan Rice says. "We're not being taken to the international court of justice and indicted the way Iran or some other place would," she said. Read more  

In this he urged the UN to "commit ... to a world without nuclear weapons". Read more

To ban or not to ban?

Francis says ban all nukes.

He made his view plain in a message read this week at the "United Nations conference aimed at negotiating a legally binding instrument on the prohibition of nuclear weapons, leading to their total elimination."

The nuclear powers have boycotted the conference. They include Russia, India, China, Japan and Pakistan.

The UK, US and France are opposed to the idea of a nuclear ban. They are at the conference, fighting for their perspective.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is leading opposition to the ban, said of the conference's purpose "you have to ask yourself, are they looking out for their people?

"Do they really understand the threats that we have? Our job is to protect the people in our country."

Haley said while she'd like to see a world without nuclear weapons, it wasn't a realistic aim.

The Holy See admits its goal is a "demanding" and "forward-looking" one.

Speaking on Francis's behalf at the conference, Msgr. Antoine Camilleri said if the main threats to a peaceful, secure society are taken into account ...

"... not a few doubts arise regarding the inadequacy of nuclear deterrence as an effective response to such challenges."

He noted these combined with the "catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences" that would follow the use of nuclear weapons make the goal a moral and ethical necessity.

Source

• CNA
• Nikkei Asian Review
• EconoTimes
• Scroll.In
• Crux
• Image: Planet Deadly

You are in harm's way if you live in or near a large U.S. city or major military installation. And considering that radiation fallout from a nuclear attack would hurt virtually everyone, and cause irreparable harm to our earth-home, we are all threatened by nuclear weapons.

Dr. Bruce Blair, a former military officer responsible for 50 Minuteman nuclear missiles in Montana, and now co-founder of Global Zero (www.globalzero.org) - an international organization dedicated to eliminating all nuclear weapons - shared with me a highly dangerous little known fact: Both the United States and Russia each have hundreds of nuclear warheads still aimed at each other.

And what's even worse, these weapons of mass destruction are programmed at launch ready alert - otherwise known as hair-trigger alert - meaning they are fully armed and ready to be launched within just 30 minutes of a perceived nuclear attack.

The risk of misinterpreted information or system failure could lead to accidental nuclear war. The world has already experienced several close calls.

During the 2008 presidential election, candidate Barack Obama pledged that he would "work with Russia to take nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert."

That has not happened.

Instead, to the contrary President Obama has proposed an unprecedented and dangerous $1 trillion modernization over the next three decades of the U.S. nuclear war triade - currently composed of air (B52 and B2 bombers), sea (about 8 Trident ballistic missile submarines at sea at all times), and land (approximately 450 ICBM nuclear missile silos buried in the U.S. Great Plains).

The thought of all this should send chills down our spines.

In their 1983 landmark pastoral letter "The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response," the U.S. Catholic bishops wrote that a reliance on nuclear deterrent strategies must be an interim policy only. And they firmly added, "We cannot consider it adequate as a long-term basis for peace."

That was said 33 years ago!

The world needs now the courageous leadership of the U.S. bishops to declare that nuclear deterrence has become an entrenched, intractable part of American war preparation, and, therefore, is completely morally unacceptable.

And that a systematic plan must be quickly put in place to move toward total multilateral disarmament of all nuclear weapons.

Dr. Blair told me that Global Zero has just such a plan.

The Global Zero Action Plan calls for the United States and the Russian Federation - who together hold more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons—to negotiate major cuts in their arsenals, followed by negotiations with the remaining seven nuclear weapons nations.

Through a phased-in multilateral reduction of nuclear weapons, with a rigorous comprehensive verification and enforcement system, all nuclear powers proportionately would move to total nuclear disarmament and dismantlement by 2030.

Sounds like a plan - a reasonable, common sense, morally correct, doable plan!

Blair explained that "The barriers to getting to a world without nuclear weapons - global zero - are not technical, scientific, or economic. The barrier is one of political will."

Watch this challenging and inspiring short video http://www.globalzero.org/demand-zero/prague-speech. And then join the global zero movement.

As we approach the sad anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let us remember that our God is the God of life!

And let us honor him, and his creation, by tirelessly praying and working for the day when nuclear weapons will be confined to history.

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings about Catholic social teaching. His keynote address, "Advancing the Kingdom of God in the 21st Century," has been well received by diocesan and parish gatherings from Santa Clara, Calif. to Baltimore, Md. Tony can be reached at tmag@zoominternet.net.

Sr Megan Rice and two men had their convictions for sabotage overturned.

But their convictions for damaging government property were upheld.

The court ordered they be resentenced on the latter convictions, based on time already served.

In 2012, the three cut through four layers of fences and entered the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

They spray-painted antiwar slogans, splashed blood and hammered on exterior walls of the facility as part of their protest against nuclear weapons.

"They did not cut [the fences] to allow Qaeda to slip in behind," the ruling stated.

Continue reading

‘Don`t Bank on the Bomb' details how 298 private and public financial institutions around the world invest almost $314 billion (USD) in 27 companies involved in the production, maintenance and modernization of nuclear weapons. It is launched today in the wake of the forthcoming UN General Assembly First Committee, set to begin discussion on nuclear weapons on 17 October. Continue reading

A a young woman Keju championed the cause of nuclear weapons test survivors. She took to a global stage at the World Council of Churches Assembly in Canada in 1983 to tell the world about the health impact of the American nuclear tests, and of the US Army's discrimination against Marshall Islanders at its missile-testing base at Kwajalein Atoll.

"This book is a story of a personal transformation of a young lady who once knew little English to an advocate for her people, the victims of the weapons of war," writes Fr. Francis X. Hezel, SJ, in the foreword to the new book.

Hezel, who founded the Jesuit think tank known as the Micronesian Seminar in the early 1970s and is now based in Guam, says the book is the "tale of a woman who loved her people, seeing them as so much more than victims of nuclear irradiation and colonial despoilment.

"For those of us who have cheered on island Micronesia through the years, it is a welcome change to read a tribute to someone who is home grown.

"Although no saint or flag-waver, Darlene shared with Mother Theresa and Greg Mortenson (of Three Cups of Tea fame) the courage to dream daringly along with the commitment and patience to settle for one step — one family, one atoll — at a time."

Source

• Pacific Scoop
• Image: pacificinstitute.anu.au

The Cullen Fund, so-called for its architect former Finance Minister Michael Cullen, will exclude public companies Babcock & Wilcox, Fluor Corp, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Jacobs Engineering Group, Serco Group and URS Corp, having sold its $2.2 million holdings in those firms, it said in a statement. Private company Bechtel Group will also be excluded.

Addressing the media in Tahiti after touring the area, Commodore Anne Cullerre says that platforms have been built on Mururoa atoll, should a coral cliff collapse trigger a huge wave and force the 35 military personnel deployed there to seek safety.

Cullerre says radiation from the former nuclear weapons test site poses no risks.

John Doom, national coordinator, Association of Former Nuclear Site Workers of Mururoa, says he had the information that a laboratory was starting to be built at Mururoa for the inspection of seabed resources in French Polynesia.

The head of the Moruroa e tatou veterans organisation in French Polynesia, Roland Oldham, says allowing access to the atoll would quell claims and counterclaims about work on the atoll.

Source

• Radio Australia International
• Radio New Zealand International
• Radio New Zealand International
• Image: The Epoch Times

Sister Anne, a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart, took part in the so-called Plowshares actions from 1980 until 2009. From 1980 she was in full-time ministry as a peace advocate.

She also became involved with the Christian Peacemaker Teams, a nonviolent, ecumenical anti-war organisation, serving as a witness for peace in Iraq, the Balkans and the West Bank.

Her last Plowshares involvement — at a United States Navy facility in Washington state where more than 2300 nuclear warheads are believed to be stored — cost her two months in a federal prison.

After being indicted at the age 83 for the 2009 protest, Sister Anne said she felt called to continue protesting against nuclear weapons and would do so in one way or another until her last days.

"I have been involved since 1980 in Plowshares movements, which are really saying we as human beings, as Christians, as citizens of a country which is supposed to be governed by its citizens, we are responsible to eliminate these weapons," she said.

Oblate Father Carl Kabat, another Plowshares participant, said Sister Anne held firm to her beliefs about the danger of nuclear war and was prepared to face the consequences of her actions even if it meant she was to be imprisoned.

"She was very strong," he said. "She was a very good person, very wonderful, [who was] motivated by faith."

International protests under the Plowshares banner included the action of Father Peter Murnane, Adrian Leason and Sam Land against the Waihopai communications base near Blenheim in 2008.

Source:

US Catholic

Image: Next Left Notes

Murorua e Tatou (MET), the Nuclear Association in French Polynesia, says the issue was detailed in a leaked report from the Ministry of Defence to the French government dated March 2010.

MET president, Roland Oldham said "We've been trying to raise the consciousness of the people - our own people and our government and all the rest about this really frightening thing that could happen if actually one part of Murorua would collapse."

MET wants independent experts to be allowed to conduct a study to provide more information about the danger of the atoll collapsing.

Oldham, told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program that radioactive material could be released into the Pacific Ocean if the atoll were to collapse.

"Just in that little area there is over maybe twelve underground tests in that area and we have to remember that France have done altogether 193 nuclear test explosions in Murorua," he said.

Source

• Radio Australia
• Image: The Epoch Times

Pates, chairman of the US Catholic Bishops Committee on International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said, "In Catholic teaching, the use of force must always be a last resort,"

"Iran's bellicose statements, its failure to be transparent about its nuclear program and its possible acquisition of nuclear weapons are serious matters, but in themselves they do not justify military action."

Based on the Church's teaching on war and peace, the Bishops' Conference is urging the U.S. Government to continue to explore all available options to resolve the conflict with Iran through diplomatic, rather than military, means said Pates.

Some of the options he identified are:

• effective and targeted sanctions
• incentives for Iran to engage in diplomacy
• the exhaustion of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"The Church's position against nuclear non-proliferation is clear," Pates continued.

"We believe nuclear weapons violate the just war norms of proportionality and discrimination in the use of force. Our Bishops' Conference has earlier indicated our strong objection to Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons as it would further destabilize that volatile region and undermine nonproliferation efforts. We have often criticized Iran's lack of transparency and cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors."

Sources

• CNA
• US Catholic Bishops Conference (Press Release)
• Image: Counter Propaganda News

What I would like to do here is to share how the development of the Church's teachings have advanced over the years and what those teachings say to us today. I will then explore the current status of efforts to address these unique weapons and specifically, the position of the Holy See.

As you all are aware, new attention is being paid to the unresolved problem of 20,000 nuclear weapons located at 111 sites in 14 countries. More than half the population of the world lives in a nuclear-armed country. Each year, nations spend $100 billion on maintaining and modernizing their nuclear arsenals.

When we are talking about the nuclear disarmament, the principle of good faith is vital within international law. Essentially, good faith means abiding by agreements in a manner true to their purposes and working sincerely and cooperatively through negotiations to attain agreed objectives.

Therefore, the current modernization of nuclear forces and their technical infrastructure are contrary to such good faith because they make difficult or impossible a negotiated achievement of global nuclear disarmament.

President Ronald Reagan at his second inaugural address in 1985 said: "We seek the total elimination one day of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth". I think it is time to follow through on his goal.

Read the complete address of Archbishop Francis Chullikat' on Nuclear disarmament

Sources

• Image: Urban75 Blog

Quoting the words of Pope Benedict XVI, he said: "In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims."

O'Brien, who was protesting at Faslane for the first time, said: "I've been speaking of the teaching of the Catholic Church on nuclear weapons for many years now, telling our message to whoever is willing to listen, and I'm very pleased to repeat that teaching again.

There is no better place to say that it is not courageous of Britain to have these dreadful weapons of mass destruction.

"As you'll see, it's a consistent teaching, a central part of our pro-life stance, that has human dignity at its very core.

"And it's a message I'm all the more glad to repeat here at the gates of Faslane, which is the very heart of Britain's nuclear weapons industry."

Cardinal O'Brien said Trident was becoming obsolete, providing the opportunity to give it up.

He added: "Here at the gates of Faslane, there is no better place to say that it is not courageous of Britain to have these dreadful weapons of mass destruction.

"It is shameful to have them. If our government wished to truly be courageous it would unilaterally give up its nuclear deterrent, giving the witness and impetus for other nations to do the same."

The cardinal was joined by representatives from churches across Scotland in an Easter witness for peace.

In 2006 the British government, under Prime Minister Tony Blair, committed itself to replacing its entire submarine-based nuclear weapons system. That policy is currently being continued by the new British government under Prime Minister David Cameron. The present system, code named Trident, is headquartered at the Faslane naval base on the west coast of Scotland.

The replacement system will also be berthed there.

Sources

• BBC
• Catholic News Agency