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Call for Catholic Universities to take up cause of nuclear disarmament

Catholic Universities and the Nuclear Threat, Peace Policy, 
 May 28, 2014 Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.Fifty-one years ago, Pope John XXIII issued his encyclical Pacem in Terris, which declared that “the arms race should cease” and urged that “all come to an agreement on a fitting program of disarmament.”

In revitalizing the Catholic voice first raised by Pope John, Catholic universities play a special role. We have an obligation to use our scholarly abilities to research and teach on the most pressing issues of life and death — including on the catastrophic power of nuclear weapons. We also have the opportunity to work in collaboration with the Bishops of our Church, the ethicists and academics from other universities, and with national security experts who’ve held the highest positions of responsibility in the United States government……….

universities should serve as networks of discussion and sources of knowledge and talent and training, able to explore and address the practical, technical, and ethical issues that arise on the way to a global ban.

Albert Einstein famously said that the advent of nuclear weapons “has changed everything but our thinking.” It is the task of the religious leaders, distinguished statesmen, university leaders and scholars to begin to change our thinking.

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., is president of the University of Notre Dame. http://peacepolicy.nd.edu/2014/05/28/catholic-universities-and-the-nuclear-threat/

May 29, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general