Pope’s comments came the day before the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
VATICAN CITY — The scars still borne by survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and still visible on the cities’ streets and buildings are a plea to pursue peace and disarmament, Pope Leo XIV said.
“True peace demands the courageous laying down of weapons — especially those with the power to cause an indescribable catastrophe,” the pope wrote in a message to Bishop Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama of Hiroshima.
“Nuclear arms offend our shared humanity and also betray the dignity of creation, whose harmony we are called to safeguard,” he wrote in the message released at the Vatican Aug. 5.
The pope’s message was sent as people gathered from around the world to solemnly mark the 80th anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.
The bombings killed more than 150,000 people, mostly civilians, and left the cities in ruins.
In his message, Pope Leo conveyed “sentiments of respect and affection for the ‘hibakusha’” or survivors of the bombings, “whose stories of loss and suffering are a timely summons to all of us to build a safer world and foster a climate of peace.”
The pope noted how even after 80 years, “the two cities remain living reminders of the profound horrors wrought by nuclear weapons. Their streets, schools and homes still bear scars — both visible and spiritual — from that fateful August of 1945.”
Today, at a time of “mounting global tensions and conflicts,” he wrote, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are signs “that urge us to reject the illusion of security founded on mutually assured destruction. Instead, we must forge a global ethic rooted in justice, fraternity and the common good.”
Pope Leo prayed that the 80th anniversary of the bombings would “serve as a call to the international community to renew its commitment to pursuing lasting peace for our whole human family — ‘a peace that is unarmed and disarming,’” he said, quoting a phrase he used when addressing the crowd in St. Peter’s Square immediately after his election May 8.
Peace, disarmament begin in the heart
Peace and nuclear disarmament begin in the heart, said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“We must renew our efforts to work for the conversion of heart required for a global commitment to lasting peace, and thus the elimination of nuclear weapons,” Archbishop Broglio said.
The archbishop shared his thoughts in an Aug. 4 statement ahead of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“As we mark this doleful anniversary, we recognize the ongoing threat of nuclear weapons and their proliferation,” Archbishop Broglio said.
His voice joins a growing chorus from Pope Leo and several Catholic prelates — including longtime Vatican diplomat Cardinal Silvano Tomasi; Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations; and Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico — on the need for disarmament amid renewed threats of nuclear attacks and heightened geopolitical tensions worldwide.
Such tensions saw President Donald Trump announce Aug. 1 that he had ordered the move of two U.S. nuclear submarines to what he called “the appropriate regions,” following threats made online by former Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev about nuclear war risks.
In marking the anniversary of the atomic bombings, “let us prayerfully remember the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and urge the United States and the international community to work diligently for nuclear disarmament around the world,” Archbishop Broglio said. “Following Pope Leo XIV’s recent appeal, we exhort all nations to ‘shape their future by works of peace, not through violence and bloody conflict!’”
Gina Christian, OSV News, contributed to this story.
