The Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation commission of the Major Superiors of Religious congregation of men and women (USG / UISG) organised a seminar on November 12, 2010 with the theme: "Instruments of Peace: Creating a World Without Nuclear Weapons". The following the the press release.
A world without nuclear weapons is something to strive for, was the common denominator that seems to have been agreed upon by all those who participated in Saturday’s JPIC seminar, entitled: “Instruments of Peace: Creating a World Without Nuclear Weapons”, sponsored by the JPIC Commission of the two Unions of Superior Generals at the Generalate of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, but how and how quickly to achieve that goal was the lingering question at the day’s end. His Excellency Dr. Miguel Diaz, the United States Ambassador to the Holy See, spoke about The Audacity to Hope in a World Without Nuclear Weapons and Cardinal Peter K. Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council Iustitia et Pax spoke to the topic as well.
In his address the Ambassador pointed out the shared positions of the Obama government and the Holy See, mainly that nonproliferation is good and that the development and production of arms ties up resources that could be used in development. He then explained the U.S. government’s efforts at Nuclear Non-Proliferation, supporting peaceful uses of nuclear technology – such as nuclear power, food security, water management and promoting global health – transparency about nuclear stockpiles and the new START treaty. “A world with nuclear weapons is unacceptable. We must be steadfast in stating and restating this declaration. “A world with nuclear weapons is unacceptable.”
Cardinal Turkson outlined the Church’s position on the use of nuclear weapons and the policy of nuclear deterrence since Vatican II. He noted that during the Cold War deterrence was based on two suppositions: 1. The existence of ideological blocs; 2. The assumption of a rational behavior that would prevent either bloc from a first strike because of the fear of escalation and mutual destruction. He then analyzed society’s positions on the threat of the use of nuclear arms from the legal, strategic, moral and economic aspects. He too ended his talk with a challenge for all to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons by decreasing demand for them, and ultimately by following the call to be instruments of peace.
During several question and answer sessions the speakers responded to remarks or questions about the policies of the U.S. government and/or the Holy See regarding disarmament and other policies. The discussion was lively and reflected the passionate interest of all involved.
In a prepared response to the presentations, Mercedarian Sister Filo Hirota noted that if we want to be proactive for nuclear disarmament, our action must be well grounded with a deeply ethical and spiritual motivation to deny any will to kill. She also noted the importance of working towards a nuclear weapons convention and asked all the participants to become familiar with various actions for nuclear disarmament. She concluded by reading a message from Archbishop Joseph Takami of Nagasaki, Japan, who stated that “Any weapon, let alone nuclear weapons, destroys the dignity of a person and should never be manufactured. Total abolition of nuclear weapons is an indispensable condition for world peace.”
