During a historic visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 2019, when he met survivors of the atomic bombings of those cities, Pope Francis condemned the use and possession of nuclear weapons as “immoral” and urged support for “the principal international legal instruments of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”. He also said that a world without nuclear weapons is “possible and necessary”.

Pope Francis was a strong critic of the doctrine of nuclear deterrence. During his speech in Nagasaki, he said that “nuclear doctrines” foment “a climate of fear, mistrust, and hostility”, adding that the possession of nuclear weapons is never the answer to our longings for security, peace, and stability. Nuclear weapons only ever afford a “false sense of security”, he said, as peace cannot be achieved through “the threat of total annihilation”.

Our thoughts are with our Partners at the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, Catholic Religious Australia and Catholics in Coalition for Justice and Peace at this difficult time and to Catholics around the world mourning this loss.