It's been 77 years since the atomic bomb hit the city of Nagasaki, Japan, which left about 39,000 people dead.
Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken about the consequences of using nuclear weapons. He has criticized the accumulation of weapons, calling it the “logic of fear.”
POPE FRANCIS
Weapons of mass destruction, particularly atomic, create nothing more than a false sense of security and cannot constitute the basis of peaceful coexistence between members of the human family.
Recently, Pope Francis updated his stance on the morality of nuclear weapons. On his flight back from Canada, the Pope argued that simply possessing atomic weapons is immoral.
During his trip to Nagasaki in 2019, Pope Francis visited the spot where the atomic bomb had been dropped in 1945. He urged countries to use their money to help the poor and needy rather than for nuclear weapons, arguing that they are contrary to peace.
POPE FRANCIS
Peace and international stability are incompatible with attempts to build upon the fear of mutual destruction or the threat of total annihilation.
The Pope has even met with survivors of the bombings and listened to their stories.
In 2019, he met Setsuko Thurlow, a Hiroshima survivor. During the encounter, the Pope blew out the “Flame of Peace” candle, which was taken from the embers of the atomic bomb in 1945.
Holy Father, please will you blow out this flame so there will never again be another Nagasaki, so there will never be again another Hiroshima?
Another flame from the Hiroshima bomb will burn until the use of nuclear weapons ceases.
KG
