Photo: T Grand
Updated 7 August 2020.
Churches and Christian organisations are observing the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Anglican Pacifist Fellowship:
An online vigil marking the 75th anniversary of the bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is being held on 6 August 2020, 4-5pm via Zoom.
It will include reflections, prayers, readings and songs with contributions from APF members, trustees and friends, including Bishop Paul Bayes and Canon Paul Oestreicher.
Please see the APF website for registration details.
Catholic Church
A statement has been released by the Catholic bishops of Scotland, England and Wales.
‘During his historic visit to Japan last year, Pope Francis declared that “the use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possession of atomic weapons is immoral”. Seventy-five years on from the unprecedented and horrific destruction of life at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are called to reflect prayerfully upon the UK’s own possession of nuclear weapons.
Pope Francis reiterated that the threat of mutual destruction, the massive loss of innocent lives and the annihilation of any future for our common home, is completely incompatible with our efforts to build peace. “If we really want to build a more just and secure society, we must let the weapons fall from our hands”, said the Pope.
He also reminded us that it is unjust to continue squandering precious resources on manufacturing, maintaining and upgrading ever more destructive technology. The cost of nuclear weapons should be measured not only in the lives destroyed through their use, but also the suffering of the poorest and most vulnerable people, who could have benefited were such vast sums of public money invested in the Common Good of society instead. The Scottish and English and Welsh bishops’ conferences have in the past called on the UK government to forsake its own nuclear weapons.
We therefore recommit ourselves to the abolition of these weapons and to the Holy Father’s call to pray each day “for the conversion of hearts and for the triumph of a culture of life, reconciliation and fraternity. A fraternity that can recognize and respect diversity in the quest for a common destiny.”‘
Bishop William Nolan, Bishop of Galloway and on behalf of the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.
Bishop Declan Lang, Bishop of Clifton and Chairman of the international Affairs Department of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
Please see the Justice & Peace Scotland website.
Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Christian CND is coordinating a statement to mark the 75th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It has been signed by a large number of Christian leaders across Britain and Ireland including Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York; Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland; Bernard Longley, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, Malcolm McMahon, Archbishop of Liverpool (President of British Section of Pax Christi) and Juliet Prager, Deputy Recording Clerk for Quakers in Britain. The list of signatures and more details are available on the Christian CND website.
Full statement
August 6 marks 75 years since the dropping of a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The bombings killed tens of thousands of people and caused environmental damage and suffering which many people continue to live with today.
Shortly after the bombings the international community came together at the United Nations to say “never again” and pledged to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons around the world. Sadly, 75 years on, that goal has yet to be met, and many nuclear-armed states, including the United Kingdom, are currently pursuing upgrades to their nuclear arsenals, spending hundreds of billions of pounds in the process.
As Christians we reject nuclear weapons. We believe that their capacity to indiscriminately kill millions of our brothers and sisters, and to catastrophically destroy God’s creation, makes them contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ. Recent events have shown that the global community must work together to overcome the challenges facing us in the 21st century. We must speak out and call for action to ensure that the horrific events witnessed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are never repeated.
We call on the UK government to make every effort to engage in meaningful international disarmament, most importantly by committing to the cancellation of the current programme to replace Trident.
Joint Interfaith Statement
A statement has been release from 189 organisations representing different faiths, including the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Church of Scotland, Justice and Peace Scotland, the Methodist Church in Britain, Pax Christi England & Wales, Pax Christi Ireland, Pax Christi Scotland, Quakers in Britain, United Reformed Church (UK) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).
‘As a wide coalition of faith-based communities from around the world, we have committed to speaking with one voice that rejects the existential threat to humanity that nuclear weapons pose. We reaffirm that the presence of even one nuclear weapon violates the core principles of our different faith traditions and threatens the unimaginable destruction of everything we hold dear. Nuclear weapons are not only a future risk, their presence here and now undermines the ethical and moral foundations of the common good. We call for your commitment to a world that is more peaceful, safe, and just—a world only possible with the elimination of nuclear weapons…’
‘…We urge our governments to use the opportunity of the 75 th anniversary of the only occasion that nuclear weapons have been used in conflict, to ensure that they are never used again in any circumstances. We call upon all States to join the growing community of States which have rejected nuclear weapons entirely. We appeal to you to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.’
Please read the full statement on the WCC website.
Quakers in Britain
Ahead of the anniversary, Quakers in Britain is supporting Christian CND‘s call on the UK government to work for a global ban on nuclear weapons and to cancel the current programme to replace Trident.
‘As Christians we reject nuclear weapons. We believe that their capacity to indiscriminately kill millions of our brothers and sisters, and to catastrophically destroy God’s creation, makes them contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ…
‘We call on the UK government to make every effort to engage in meaningful international disarmament, most importantly by committing to the cancellation of the current programme to replace Trident’, said Juliet Prager, Deputy Recording Clerk for Quakers in Britain, in a letter to the UK Government.
The full statement is on the Quakers in Britain website.
Events
Quakers in Britain says it will be joining many online events, webinars, teach-ins, fasts, vigils, drama and exhibitions which are listed, together with resources, on the Quakers in Britain website.
Pax Christi
Pax Christi has a range of events to remember the suffering, death and destruction caused by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, including:
- You can join Pax Christi online every day at 8am from Thu 6 to Sun 9 August 2020 for prayer and reflection.
- Witness for Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Liverpool, from the CND Office, 6 August 2020 at 10am.
- Pax Christi will have a ‘safe presence’ outside Westminster Cathedral, London, on 6 and 9 August, 10-11.30am.
- 9 August 2020 6.30-7.30pm: Franz Jägerstätter Memorial Event, online. To mark the anniversary of the execution of Austrian Catholic conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter. This year, Marian Pallister of Pax Christi Scotland and representatives of Pax Christi Austria will speak. For details, please email info@paxchristi.org.uk.
Please see the Pax Christi England and Wales website for the latest information.
World Council of Churches (WCC)
The WCC is calling for a world free from nuclear weapons, as the international community prepares to commemorate 75 years since the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
During July and August 2020, the WCC will also publish a series of blog posts highlighting different reflections and experiences of those who are calling for an end to nuclear weapons, from Japan, the Pacific, from nuclear weapons states and those advocating at the global level.
