New York: Pax Christi commemoration of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Pax Christi Metro New York is hosting 'Nuclear Lies, Nuclear Truths' a lecture, silent procession, prayers and discussion to mark the 57th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this Sunday 5 August.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a few thoughtful Americans questioned the morality of the bombings. Alarmed by those questions, men such as Conant, Bundy, and Stimson went about creating an explanation of why atomic bombs were used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That explanation has been widely accepted; however, the vast majority of historians who have studied the matter since then believe that the story told by men like Conant, Bundy, and Stimson-and later by Truman-was profoundly misleading.

"As part of a Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial, David Harrington Watt, a member of the Religious Society of Friends (the Quakers) and a Professor of History at Temple University, will address this controversy.

Leila Zand, an Iranian-American who lived in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, the Iranian reconstruction period following the war, and the Iranian reform years, and who now serves as Civilian Diplomacy and Middle East Program Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, will follow with a look at today's controversy regarding 'Militarization of the Middle East: Iran-US Relations.'

Sponsored by Pax Christi Metro New York, a regional chapter of the international Catholic peace movement, this event will also include prayer, discussion, and a silent procession to Fr. Demo Square in Greenwich Village for a brief, solemn vigil.

It will take place on Sunday afternoon, 5 August, beginning at 2.30pm in Casserly Hall below St Joseph's Church. Enter on Washington Place just off Sixth Avenue, one block north of West 4th Street. It will conclude with the public witness at 4.30pm

All are welcome.