Remember the suffering of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and take action to end nuclear weapons |
This year marks the 78th anniversary of the first use of nuclear weapons. At 8:15 AM (local time) on August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. More than 70,000 people died instantly or within hours. On August 9 at 11:02 AM, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 60,000 people that day. The majority of casualties were non-combatants, women, men and children of all ages.
In his 2022 pastoral letter on nuclear disarmament, Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester writes about his 2017 visit to the bombing sites: “It was a somber, sobering experience as I realized that on August 6, 1945, humanity crossed the line into the darkness of the nuclear age. We can now kill billions of people instantly and even destroy the world in a flash. The reality of this evil becomes very real as you walk through Hiroshima and Nagasaki today.
“In one exhibit, I read about school children in Hiroshima who, on that fateful morning in August 1945, ran to the windows, attracted by a bright light. I wonder how many were running to their deaths, either instantaneously incinerated or dying later in agonizing pain. Normally, light brings new life and clearer vision. Not that day. Sadly, the light generated by the first nuclear explosion used in war brought only destruction and death.”
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Archbishop Wester will return to Japan at the end of this month, when he, Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle, and several members of their staffs will embark on a "pilgrimage of peace" to Hiroshima and Nagasaki (plus Tokyo, Akita, and Kyoto.)
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In peace,
Ronnie Fellerath-Lowell, on behalf of the
Pax Christi USA Nuclear Disarmament Working Group
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Prayer of remembrance for
Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9)
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On the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki we remember the victims and their descendants. We take up the issue of nuclear disarmament with an urgency that acknowledges the seriousness of this cause and the dangerous threat that looms over all of humanity and the planet in 2023. And so, we pray: |
Good and gracious God, we pray for a world free of nuclear weapons.
Lift the fog of atomic darkness that hovers so pervasively over the earth.
We pray for world leaders to come to the realization
that more weapons and war do not bring peace.
May financial resources be allocated to alleviate poverty, support food security,
housing, health care, environment, and educational programs.
Good and gracious God, we pray that the deadly power of nuclear weapons
never again be unleashed on people and Your creation.
May such weapons of mass and indiscriminate annihilations
be forever banned and eliminated from the face of the earth.
Good and gracious God, forgive our past silence, give us the courage and strength
to tirelessly raise our prophetic voices to work to eliminate weapons of mass destruction.
Let us remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki as beacons
as we commit ourselves to find ways to live together in peace,
that we may not be just peace lovers, but peacemakers.
In the words of Isaiah:
It shall come to pass that the peoples shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
And so, we pray for the time when
“Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Amen, so be it.
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On May 15, on the occasion of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Archbishops Wester and Etienne joined Archbishop Peter Michiaki Nakamura of Nagasaki and Bishop Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama of Hiroshima in sending a letter to the G7 leaders. The letter asks that the leaders:
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acknowledge the tremendous, long-lasting human suffering the atomic bombings inflicted upon the hibakusha (the survivors of the bombings);
- acknowledge the tremendous, long-lasting human suffering that production and nuclear weapons testing have caused to downwinders around the world;
- acknowledge that nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, as well as recognize that, as the G20 agreed to in November 2022, the use and the threat of use of nuclear weapons are “inadmissible”;
- reaffirm the goal of a future world free of nuclear weapons;
- announce and commit to concrete steps to prevent a new arms race, guard against nuclear weapons use, and advance nuclear disarmament;
- reiterate that serious talks should be restored between the United States and Russia to renew full implementation of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and to negotiate a follow-on treaty; and finally,
- honor the international mandate to enter into serious multilateral negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament, pledged more than a half-century ago in the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty.
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In preparation for the August anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, consider reading The Doomsday Machine: The Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, who died on June 16. After releasing the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret history of the war in Vietnam, in 1971, Ellsberg spent the remaining 52 years of his life working for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
When the book was published in 2018, a Foreign Affairs review stated, "This candid and chilling memoir describes how [Ellsberg] came to recognize that the U.S. military’s approach to preparing for nuclear war was terrifyingly casual. If war came, the United States was ready to obliterate not only the Soviet Union but also China, as a matter of course."
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Lorin Peters of Pax Christi Northern California, a longtime peace and anti-nuclear witness, chose this reading assignment for himself. Lorin, a former physics teacher, writes, "[The Doomsday Machine] is monumental, far deeper and more detailed than anything else I've read on nuclear weapons (I started reading about them in 1955 for an English book report.) Dan [Ellsberg] was near the center of many debates and struggles regarding nuclear policies for many years. His reconstructions of these developments is so comprehensive and detailed…” |
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In a visit to Nagasaki in 2019, Pope Francis declared, “We must never grow weary of working to support the principal international legal instruments of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
Join Pope Francis in supporting disarmament by calling or writing President Biden to request that the United States sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
- Call to leave a message: 202-456-1414
- Write President Joseph Biden, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500
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One idea offered by Pax Christi Dallas and implemented already by Pax Christi local groups: The motion picture "Oppenheimer," about scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his contributions to the atomic bomb, premiered in cities across the U.S. on July 20. The Nuclear Free World Committee of the Dallas Peace and Justice Center took the opportunity to share materials about nuclear disarmament and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at the event in Dallas (held at the Angelika Film Center)
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Ronnie Fellerath-Lowell (at left) and two other members of Pax Christi St. John the Baptist (Silver Spring MD) distributed materials at a local "Oppenheimer" screening. Consider arranging similar education outreach if the film is shown in your area. Visit the film’s official website to find showtimes and locations.
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We are looking ahead with hope to the years ahead,
with a focus on sustaining the peace movement for our young leaders. Your generous support helps ensure
our future. Just click on the donation button to the
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Pax Christi USA
Weaving Threads of Peace for 50 Years
202-635-2741 | 415 Michigan Ave NE, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20017
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