Bishop calls on government to do more to dispose of nuclear weapons
ARGYLL and The Isles’ Bishop Brian McGee has joined with other Scottish Catholic bishops in calling on the UK Government to ‘ take more decisive and courageous steps’ to work towards the disposal and elimination of all nuclear weapons.
They have issued a statement urging the Government to honour its commitment as a key signatory to the Nuclear Non- Proliferations Treaty (1968) in the run up to a parliamentary vote on the renewal of Trident Nuclear weapons, expected to take place on Monday July 18.
All eight Scottish Catholic bishops have signed the statement, including Philip Tartaglia, president of the Bishop’s Conference of Scotland, and Archbishop of Glasgow and Vice President of the Conference Joseph Toal who is also the Bishop of Motherwell.
In the statement, the bishops highlight ‘ the immorality of the use of strategic nuclear weapons due to the indiscriminate destruction of innocent human life that their use would cause.’
They also mention the financial implications of nuclear weaponry, quoting Pope Francis: ‘ Spending on nuclear weapons squanders the wealth of nations.’ and adding that ‘ Lives are being lost now because money that could be spent on the needy and the poor is tied up in nuclear arsenals.’