40th Anniversary of Scottish Bishops landmark statement on nuclear weapons

As war and conflict rage across the world, foremost in our minds is what is happening in Ukraine, and over the last few weeks we have become increasingly aware of the threat that nuclear weapons pose to our world. Justice & Peace Scotland, in conjunction with Sancta Familia Media have produced a video featuring four of our Scottish Bishops with many young people and laity representing every diocese in Scotland to reaffirm our opposition to nuclear weapons and to mark the 40th anniversary the Scottish Bishops 1982 landmark statement on nuclear weapons.

Archbishop Nolan, Archbishop of Glasgow and President of Justice and Peace Scotland said: "In March 1982 the Scottish Bishops published a pastoral letter on Peace and Disarmament. In this letter they challenged not just the use of nuclear weapons, something the church has always condemned, but they challenged also the very notion of deterrence and the morality of deterrence. That challenge was not accepted at the time but now more than ever the church has come to recognise that deterrence to is something which is unacceptable. Unacceptable also is the fact that 40 years on these weapons still exist but also that countries are spending vast sums of money making new and worse weapons of destruction - money, resources and personnel that could all be better used building up peace rather than in weapons of war. We commemorate now the 40th anniversary of this document by reading it again today and seeing how relevant it is to our world today.

Also as part of this campaign on nuclear weapons posters depicting the consistent message of past and present Popes on nuclear weapons will be sent out to all parishes and secondary schools in Scotland and will be available to download from our website in the near future. A new addition to our Fratelli Tutti Educational Resource Sheets on the topic of nuclear weapons has been added here and Archbishop Nolan will talk on the issue of nuclear weapons at two online webinars which you can sign up to join here:

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/pn7GrhK6h60 (this video goes live at 00.01 16 March)

Monday 21/3/22 - 6.30pm.
Register to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkcO2hqjItE9w2mBsJopJBhICk79-jikjU

Monday 28/3/22 - 5pm.
Register to join: https://uofglasgow.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvf-CppzgjHNHdv9nuger-YHkCWgytFczK

The 1982 Statement on Peace and Disarmament reads:

It was with words of peace that the risen Christ greeted his disciples on the first Easter Day.

Peace is at the heart of the Christian message of redemption and responds to man's fundamental aspirations.

This Easter we call upon all men and women to work for genuine peace in the world. We have at present an atmosphere of uneasy peace in which a nuclear holocaust remains an ever present threat. Can we, who proclaim Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace, remain unperturbed at the frightening arms race of the super-powers? Are we prepared to risk the future of our world by gambling for peace with a nuclear deterrent? Yet while we share the moral dread and the deep perplexity of this choice, there are no facile solutions in sight. The Christian does not have special access to instant political wisdom nor yet any unchallengeable answer to this complex moral problem. There are in this matter special reasons for our perplexity.

First of all we have inherited in Catholic tradition the view that for the sake of justice war may be undertaken in extreme circumstances and waged under certain conditions.

But such justification was evolved in times when war was very different in kind and degree from what it is now. Pope Paul VI said in 1978 to the UN, "The question of war and peace presents itself today in new terms. It is not that the principles have changed but today war has at its disposal means which have immeasurably magnified its horror and its wickedness." Our present Pope, John Paul II, at Hiroshima spoke of "a new world consciousness against war". The Church has long since affirmed that "every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and nature which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation" (Gaudium et Spes 80). Moreover, there are weapons which by their genetic effects are capable of inflicting damage even on unborn children as happened in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. And even if there are weapons of so-called controlled capability which might not merit condemnation on the grounds of being indiscriminately destructive, nevertheless the escalatory consequences of their use and their long term effects would render their use morally unacceptable.

A further ground for perplexity is the lack of verifiable information about our government's preparations and intentions.

We do know that the policy is one of deterrence, but we do not know what measure of retaliation is contemplated should deterrence appear to fail.' While it may not be politic for government to disclose certain information, we should know whether a threat of retaliation with such weapons is likely to be implemented in the event of any attack or only in the case of a nuclear one. Whatever is done will be done in our name and, in a democracy, with our presumed agreement The conscience of a nation should not be compelled to hazard guesses against a background of an indefinite number of possibilities.

It is true that as long as there is no effective international authority capable of maintaining peace, a legitimate government cannot be denied the right of self-defence.

We are convinced, however, that if it is immoral to use these weapons it is also immoral to threaten their use. Some argue that the threat can be justified as the lesser of two evils. The crux of the problem is whether in any foreseeable circumstance a policy of self-defence based on the use or even the threat of use of these weapons of terrible destructiveness can ever be morally justified.

Yet, when all these grounds of hesitation and perplexity have been examined certain issues are clear to us as a matter of Christian faith and become a sign of hope to all people of goodwill.

Our faith teaches us that God is the source of our salvation. Therefore, we hope for and work towards the achievement of justice and peace in the world.

Our faith also teaches that God loves and offers salvation to all. We therefore do not accept a division of human beings into "allies" and "enemies". We are brothers and sisters and the earth is our common inheritance; we have a responsibility to share this world with everyone else, to pass it on uncontaminated, unpillaged, not despoiled, to future generations. So we have to rid ourselves of prejudice and mutual suspicion. We must totally reject any "arms race", any policy of revengeful slaughter, all greed and self-preservation at the cost of others.

The Church is already committed to the work of disarmament. In an intervention at the UN the Holy See urged that the arms race "be condemned unreservedly" because it is "a danger, an injustice, a theft from the poor and a folly". The Vatican Council urged that "all must work to put an end to the arms race and make a real beginning to disarmament" (G.S. 82).

Furthermore, the Church sees in the arms race "one of the greatest curses on the human race, and the harm it inflicts on the poor is more than can be tolerated" (G.S.82). Vast resources of materials, of manpower and of technology are being spent on the production of ever more terrible weapons of destruction, while at the same time millions of people are deprived of the most basic needs for human life, largely because of the failure to deploy such resources in the resolution of their problems. Too much energy has been spent on preparations for war, too little on making peace. We must redress the balance.

The Church has called upon her members and all men of good will to co-operate with the international agencies set up to facilitate co-operation between nations in the cause of world development and peace. "These stand forth", said the Fathers of the Council, "as the first attempts to lay international foundations under the whole human community for the solving of the critical problems of our age, the promotion of global progress, and the prevention of any kind of war. (They) deserve well of the human race" (G.S.84).

We do not find it surprising in the circumstances of the world today that there should be an increasing acceptance of pacifism and conscientious objection within Catholic thinking. For our part we unite ourselves with those Catholic Hierarchies in Europe and North America who urge a breakthrough in disarmament by a specific reduction of arms. We also wish to associate ourselves with the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church in the views they have expressed on recent decisions regarding weapons deployment in this country. We exhort Catholics to be fully informed, to reflect on these serious questions, and to discuss in their communities the best way to proceed in this difficult matter of disarmament. In addition, we encourage them to work with those movements which are genuinely engaged in the pursuit of peace. We require that peace education be seen as an integral part of preaching in parishes and of teaching in schools.

Together with all men and women of good will we will work and pray for peace. All may not be able to accept our vision of faith, but we stand together in this anguishing situation.

Let us make our own the prayer said at every Mass:

"Lord Jesus Christ. you said to your apostles: 'I leave you peace. my peace I give you'. Look not on our sins. but on the faith of your Church. and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever:'

Amen.