Pope in Nagasaki: We cannot
repeat the mistakes of the past
By Vatican News
At 11:02 on the morning of 9 August 1945, an atomic bomb
exploded in Nagasaki, Japan. One-third of the city was destroyed and around
150,000 people were killed or injured. Many more died later from the effects of
radioactive poisoning.
Today, a commemorative monument to peace marks the spot
where the bomb fell.
The Peace Memorial
Pope Francis visited the Peace Memorial in Nagasaki on
Sunday morning. He placed flowers at the foot of the monument, and noted how
“This place makes us deeply aware of the pain and horror that we human beings
are capable of inflicting upon one another.”
Beside the Atomic Bomb Hypocentre stand the remains of
Urakami Cathedral. Once the largest church in East Asia, it was completely
destroyed by the bomb.
In his discourse, Pope Francis referred to a damaged cross
and a statue of Our Lady that were recently discovered on the Cathedral site:
“They remind us once more of the unspeakable horror suffered in the flesh by
the victims of the bombing and their families”, he said.
A false sense of security
“One of the deepest longings of the human heart is for
security, peace and stability”, continued the Pope. “The possession of nuclear
and other weapons of mass destruction is not the answer to this desire.”
Pope Francis reflected on how “our world is marked by a
perverse dichotomy that tries to defend and ensure stability and peace through
a false sense of security sustained by a mentality of fear and mistrust, one
that ends up poisoning relationships between peoples and obstructing any form
of dialogue.”
Peace and international stability, said the Pope, “can be
achieved only on the basis of a global ethic of solidarity and cooperation in
the service of a future shaped by interdependence and shared responsibility in
the whole human family of today and tomorrow.”
A waste of resources
Pope Francis reaffirmed that “the arms race wastes precious
resources that could be better used to benefit the integral development of
peoples and to protect the natural environment.
In a world where millions of children and families live in
inhumane conditions, the money that is squandered and the fortunes made through
the manufacture, upgrading, maintenance and sale of ever more destructive
weapons, are an affront crying out to heaven”, he said.
A climate of distrust
If we are to build a world of peace, free from nuclear
weapons, we must involve everyone, said the Pope: “individuals, religious
communities and civil society, countries that possess nuclear weapons and those
that do not, the military and private sectors, and international
organizations.”
Pope Francis called for a ”joint and concerted” response to
the threat of nuclear weapons, “inspired by the arduous yet constant effort to
build mutual trust and thus surmount the current climate of distrust.”
“We are witnessing an erosion of multilateralism which is
all the more serious in light of the growth of new forms of military
technology”, continued the Pope, describing this approach as “highly
incongruous in today’s context of interconnectedness.”
The Church’s commitment
Pope Francis confirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to
promoting peace between peoples and nations, calling it “a duty to which the
Church feels bound before God and every man and woman in our world.”
“May prayer, tireless work in support of agreements, and
insistence on dialogue be the most powerful ‘weapons’ in which we put our trust
and the inspiration of our efforts to build a world of justice and solidarity
that can offer an authentic assurance of peace”, he said.
A challenge for everyone
Pope Francis said he is convinced that a world without
nuclear weapons is possible and necessary, but “we need to ponder the
catastrophic impact of their deployment, especially from a humanitarian and
environmental standpoint, and reject heightening a climate of fear, mistrust
and hostility fomented by nuclear doctrines.”
The task of creating tools for ensuring trust and reciprocal
development is one that concerns and challenges every one of us, said Pope
Francis.
“No one can be indifferent to the pain of millions of men
and women whose sufferings trouble our consciences today. No one can turn a
deaf ear to the plea of our brothers and sisters in need. No one can turn a
blind eye to the ruin caused by a culture incapable of dialogue.”
All instruments of peace
The Pope invited everyone to pray daily “for the conversion
of hearts and for the triumph of a culture of life, reconciliation and
fraternity. A fraternity that can recognize and respect diversity in the quest
for a common destiny.”
Pope Francis concluded quoting the prayer for peace
attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
“In this striking place of remembrance that stirs us from
our indifference”, said the Pope, “it is all the more meaningful that we turn
to God with trust, asking Him to teach us to be effective instruments of peace
and to make every effort not to repeat the mistakes of the past.”
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