In a message on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Japan, Pope Leo recently expressed his closeness to the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and reiterated calls for nations to reject nuclear weapons and pursue longstanding peace.
Pope Leo sent the message, dated July 14 but released this week just ahead of the dates of the bombings, to Bishop Alexis Shirahama of Hiroshima. He extended cordial greetings to those commemorating the anniversary, and then said, “In a particular way, I express my sentiments of respect and affection for the hibakusha survivors, whose stories of loss and suffering are a timely summons to all of us to build a safer world and foster a climate of peace.”
“Though many years have passed, the two cities remain living reminders of the profound horrors wrought by nuclear weapons,” Pope Leo continued. “Their streets, schools and homes still bear scars — both visible and spiritual — from that fateful August of 1945. In this context, I hasten to reiterate the words so often used by my beloved predecessor Pope Francis: ‘War is always a defeat for humanity’.”
About 20 years ago, then-Father Robert Prevost (now Pope Leo) visited Nagasaki twice, meeting with local churches, according to UCA News. In his message to Bishop Shirahama, Pope Leo also quoted the words of Nagasaki bomb survivor Dr. Takashi Nagai, who said that “the person of love is the person of ‘bravery’ who does not bear arms.”
“Indeed,” Pope Leo said, “true peace demands the courageous laying down of weapons — especially those with the power to cause an indescribable catastrophe. Nuclear arms offend our shared humanity and also betray the dignity of creation, whose harmony we are called to safeguard.”
Further, peace cannot be mistaken for countries’ stalemate-like ability to destroy each other, according to the Pope.
“In our time of mounting global tensions and conflicts, Hiroshima and Nagasaki stand as ‘symbols of memory’ that urge us to reject the illusion of security founded on mutually assured destruction,” Pope Leo said. “Instead, we must forge a global ethic rooted in justice, fraternity and the common good.”
“It is thus my prayer that this solemn anniversary will serve as a call to the international community to renew its commitment to pursuing lasting peace for our whole human family — ‘a peace that is unarmed and disarming,’” Pope Leo said, referencing his first “Urbi et Orbi” address as Pope.
“Upon all who mark this anniversary,” he concluded, “I willingly invoke abundant divine blessings."