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Pope Francis to spell it out in USA on need to abandon nuclear weapons

The Pope Is Lining Up to Ban Nuclear Weapons, Defense One SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 BY JOE CIRINCIONE TOM COLLINA Pope Francis is making a key shift in church doctrine on nuclear weapons, and some people are not going to like it. The Catholic Church has long held that nuclear weapons must be eliminated from the face of the Earth.

Pope John XXIII, now a saint, wrote in 1963, “Nuclear weapons must be banned. A general agreement must be reached on a suitable disarmament program.” The church and the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops have worked actively in support of arms control and disarmament agreements, including the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, the 2010 New START treaty between the United States and Russia and the 1996 nuclear test ban treaty.

When the pontiff speaks in Washington and New York this week, he will likely take the church position a step further. He may declare that any possession of nuclear weapons is immoral. No one should have them, at any time, for any reason.

Up to now, the church has abhorred the inhumanity of these weapons that indiscriminately target innocent civilians and would kill them in massive numbers. But—until now—it has recognized a need for states to have nuclear weapons to deter other countries from launching a nuclear attack on them.

September 23, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general