Walking Together for World Peace Request for Cooperation in Building a Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons
August 6, 2024
To: Diocesan bishops, superiors of religious and missionary orders,
presidents of Catholic educational institutions, and directors of Catholic institutions
+ Peace in Christ
Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings. We will also be celebrating the Holy Jubilee, and it is hoped that efforts will be made in line with its intentions.
The long-standing cry of the people of the world, especially of hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors), for a world without nuclear weapons came to fruition in July 2017 with the United Nations adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). This treaty entered into force on January 22, 2021, with the Holy See as the first to sign and ratify it.
On November 24, 2019, Pope Francis visited the atomic-bombed cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and delivered messages calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Pope Francis said, “The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is today, more than ever, a crime not only against the dignity of human beings but against any possible future for our common home. The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possessing of nuclear weapons is immoral.”
We bishop signatories of this letter vigorously support the peace efforts of Pope Francis, since each of our arch/dioceses, in one way or the other, has suffered from the development, testing, transport, possession, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons:
- the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, whose jurisdiction includes the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were developed and manufactured
- the Archdiocese of Seattle, Washington, whose jurisdiction includes the site of the largest number of deployed nuclear weapons in the United States
- the Diocese of Hiroshima and the Archdiocese of Nagasaki, Japan, which suffered greatly from the devastating effects of the atomic bombs.
We prayed and dialogued together for the hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and other nuclear victims around the world and for world peace through a Pilgrimage for Peace and various peace events in August 2023. On August 9, we signed a declaration expressing our intention to create a partnership with the aim of realizing a world without nuclear weapons. We then spent a year honing its focus, preparing its bylaws and more to promote and expand the partnership based on this declaration.
To extend our vision and bring more attention to this urgent issue, we are seeking partners willing to journey with us for a world without nuclear weapons. That is why the Lord Jesus Christ said, “If two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18.19-20). Jesus Himself has promised to help us.
Jesus Christ our Lord is the leader of the Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons. Partners (groups, organizations, and other entities) willing to journey with us are those who desire to live in Christ’s peace. Jesus taught us the importance of our mission to work for peace: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5.9).
To this end, we call on various entities within the Roman Catholic Church, including (arch)dioceses, religious orders, missionary societies, educational institutions, and other organizations, to join the Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons. Together, this voluntary international network will aim to remember the destruction caused by nuclear weapons, journey together to prevent nuclear harm, and protect against future nuclear harm to realize a world without nuclear weapons.
If you are encouraged by this work for peace, we invite you to review our bylaws on our website and join the Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (https://pwnw.org/top/en/).
Peace,
Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Most Reverend Paul D. Etienne, Archbishop of Seattle, Washington
Most Reverend Peter Michiaki Nakamura, Archbishop of Nagasaki, Japan
Most Reverend Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, Archbishop Emeritus, Archdiocese of Nagasaki, Japan
Most Reverend Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama, Bishop of Hiroshima, Japan