Pope calls for end to nuclear weapons
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis warned Friday that nuclear deterrence policies developed during the Cold War provided a “false sense of security ” and he urged government leaders to instead pursue an admittedly utopian future of a world free of atomic weapons.
Francis welcomed Nobel laureates, UN officials, NATO representatives and diplomats from countries with the bomb to a Vatican conference aimed at galvanizing global support for complete nuclear disarmament.
The Pope acknowledged that current tensions might make a shift away from the idea that nuclear powers need their arsenals to prevent enemies from using them “increasingly remote.”
But he said relying on atomic weapons to maintain a balance of power “creates nothing but a false sense of security.” Any use of them, even accidental, would be “catastrophic” for humanity and the environment, he warned.
“International relations cannot be held captive to military force, mutual intimidation and the parading of stockpiles of arms,” Francis said. Peace and security among nations must instead be “inspired by an ethics of solidarity,” he said.
Francis added that “progress that is both effective and inclusive can achieve the utopia of a world free of deadly instruments of aggression.”
Francis endorsed a new UN treaty calling for the elimination of atomic weapons, saying it filled an important gap in international law. The treaty came into being thanks in large part to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the advocacy group that won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
ICAN’s executive director, Beatrice Fihn, was among the speakers at the two-day Vatican meeting.
The conference comes amid mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula and heated rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang over the North’s nuclear ambitions.
The conference is the first major international gathering since 122 countries approved the UN nuclear weapons treaty in July. None of the nuclear powers or NATO members signed on to the accord, arguing that its lofty ideals were unrealistic given the rapid expansion of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and other nuclear threats.