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Pax Christi calls for action against replacement of Trident


Pax Christi, the international Catholic movement for peace, has been mobilising its members and others to speak out against the planned replacement of Trident, the British nuclear weapon system, due to be voted upon on Parliament on Monday 18 July. A single Trident warhead is more than six times as powerful as the bomb which killed 140,000 people in Hiroshima.

In recent weeks Pax Christi have written to every Catholic MP, urging them to consider the moral and legal implications of voting to replace Trident and encouraged their members to do the same with all constituency MPs. Pax Christi is also a co-sponsor of a Lobby of Parliament which will take place in London on 13 July and have called on members to visit their MPs. The Lobby will be preceded by a ecumenical prayer service in the Dick Shephard Chapel at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square at 12 noon.

In addition, Pax Christ have been writing to all members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference encouraging them to reaffirm their 2006 statement on nuclear weapons and set a clear moral guidance of this critical issue.

Pax Christi are much encouraged by the words of Pope Francis who has made it clear that nuclear deterrence and the threat of mutually assured
destruction cannot be the basis for an ethics of fraternity and peaceful co-existence among people and states.

In recent weeks Pax Christi have distributed thousands of copies of the jointly produced Trident Briefing, aimed at helping Christians engage in debate and discussion on replacement.

Pax Christi's General Secretary, Pat Gaffney said: "We know our members are deeply concerned and disturbed about the possible replacement of Trident. At this time in our history, to be investing money, technology, creativity in such a project is immoral when we ignore the real problems of the world: poverty, injustice, climate change, terrorism. None of these can be addressed by nuclear weapons. We want to see projects of international co-operation and information sharing that will break down barriers between people, create real safety and security and use skills and resources for the common good".

For more information on Pax Christi see: www.paxchristi.org.uk

Follow Pax Christi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/paxchristiuk

Facebook: http://facebook.com/PaxChristiUK

Support Pax Christi on: http://paxchristi.org.uk/about-us/support-us/donation/

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