Nuclear weapons, the leaders of the Catholic church: the governments must sign and ratify the Treaty

The call for a stop to nuclear weapons comes from the leaders of the Catholic Church worldwide.
After the clear message from Pope Francis, it is now the Episcopal Authority that is taking action.
Among them, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti,
president of the Italian bishops’ Conference; Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, president of the Japanese
bishops’ Conference; Jean-Claude Höllerich, cardinal of the Archdiocese of Luxembourg and
president of Luxembourg Pax Christi; Malcom McMahon (archbishops of Liverpool), Giovanni
Ricchiuti (archbishops of Altamura and president of Italian Pax Christi), José Domingo Ulloa
Mendieta, archbishops of Panama; Terry Brady, bishop of the Archdiocese of Sydney and many
other world authorities.

Through this open letter, they say that they have welcomed the entry into force of the UN Treaty last 22
January 2021 on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. “We are encouraged that most of the member
states of United Nations member states are actively supporting the new treaty by adoption, signatures and ratifications. They write- It is right that the Holy See has been one of the first states to have joined the agreement in 017. Furthermore, public opinion polls worldwide prove that the global belief is to abolish nuclear weapons. The worst of all weapons of mass destruction has long been considered unethical. Now it is finally illegal”.

Supporting “the leadership” of Pope Francis “in favor of disarmament”, also mentioning his travel to
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in November 2019, when he deplored both use and possession of nuclear
weapons “by any nations”, the Catholic leaders point out: “We are joining in urging the governments to
sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”.

Translation by Roberta  Mereu, from the voluntary Pressenza translation team. We are looking for volunteers!