Pope repeats warning on nuclear weapons
Statue of St Agnes from ruins of Nagasaki Catholic Cathedral after the bomb - now on display in the UN Headquarters. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC
Source: Vatican News
Pope Francis has once again strongly spoken out against nuclear weapons. In a 25 minute meeting today with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, before the General Audience, he said the use and possession of nuclear weapons is inconceivable.
A statement released by the Holy See Press Office said after his meeting with the Pope, the Japanese Prime Minister held talks with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.
The statement said: "During the cordial talks at the Secretariat of State, satisfaction was expressed for the bilateral collaboration, evoking the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Japan."
The statement also noted and appreciated the positive contribution of the Catholic Church in many sectors of Japanese society. International issues were also addressed, with particular attention to the war in Ukraine, emphasising the urgency of dialogue and peace and the wish was expressed for a world free of nuclear weapons.
Pope Francis has spoken out against the arms trade and nuclear weapons on several occasions. In 2020, marking the 75th anniversary of the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, he sent a message the anniversary commemoration organisers, recalling that he had prayed at the Hiroshima peace memorial during his 2019 visit to Japan and met with survivors.
He said: "It has never been clearer that, for peace to flourish, all people need to lay down the weapons of war, and especially the most powerful and destructive of weapons: nuclear arms that can cripple and destroy whole cities, whole countries."
During his 2019 visit to Japan, Pope Francis described the possession or deployment of atomic weapons as "immoral."
He has also repeatedly called for their abolition and expressed his support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Addressing participants in an International Symposium on 'Prospects for a world free of nuclear weapons and for integral disarmament' in November 2017, the Pope stated: "Unless this process of disarmament be thoroughgoing and complete, and reach men's very souls, it is impossible to stop the arms race, or to reduce armaments, or - and this is the main thing - ultimately to abolish them entirely."
LINKS
Address of Pope Francis to Participants in international Symposium for Nuclear Disarmament Nov 2017
Address of Pope Francis at Hiroshima November 2019
www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191124_messaggio-incontropace-hiroshima.html
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