A Church That Acknowledges Both Tragedy and Legacy

Guglielmo Gallone

In a reflection on the 80th anniversary of the United States of America’s dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Bishop Alexis Mitsuro Shirahama of Hiroshima highlighted that the “Catholic Church in the bombed cities has a mission to pray, raise its voice, and take action in response to the wishes of the ageing survivors in Nagasaki”. The Bishop described the image of a Church that acknowledges both the tragedy and the legacy. “From the perspective of a religious organization and as the Catholic Churches in the atomic bomb-affected areas, we deeply feel our responsibility and continue to question our mission”. Indeed, he continued, “the destructive power of nuclear weapons now far exceeds that of the atomic bombs dropped 80 years ago, and the issue is no longer about the number of nuclear weapons possessed. Even the use of a single atomic bomb would have an unimaginably devastating impact on humanity and the Earth’s environment…. The reality of these people’s situations must be made clear, and support must be extended to them”.

Bishop Shirahama’s words are courageous within today’s geopolitical context which is witnessing the erosion of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, in 2024, for the first time, spending on nuclear weapons by the nine countries that possess them exceeded $100 billion, which is equivalent to $3,169 every second, $274 million per day or $1.8 billion per week. These figures would have been sufficient to feed 345 million people facing acute famine in the world, for two years. What’s more, the international crisis seems to be affecting public opinion. A European Council on Foreign Relations poll conducted in May revealed that 60 percent of Polish people, 62 percent of Portuguese people and 54 percent of Spanish people support the idea of a national nuclear deterrent. In 2021, 14 percent of Germans approved of a nuclear presence. The number jumped to 39 percent. According to a report released by Italy’s Ministry of the Environment in 2023, there were 32,663.1 cubic metres of radioactive waste in Italy, 5 percent more than in 2022.

Bishop Shirahama spoke of an additional risk. “In addition to the five nuclear-weapon states that are parties to the NPT [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons], other countries that possess nuclear weapons are emerging, and from the perspective of nuclear deterrence, further nuclear disarmament has become difficult. In opposition to the theory of nuclear deterrence that justifies nuclear possession, we need to reveal the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, pray for their abolition, engage in dialogue, and take action together”.

Moving from words to action is immediate and is based on a journey to be taken together. Bishop Shirahama spoke about a meeting that took place on 5 August, which was attended by Archbishop Francesco Escalante Molina, Apostolic Nuncio in Japan, Cardinal Robert Walter McElroy, Archbishop of Washington D.C., Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, South Korean Bishops John Baptist Jung Shin-chul of Incheon, Benedictus Son Hee-Song of Uijeongbu and Bishop Simon Kim Ju-young of Chuncheon, Cardinal Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, Archbishop of Tokyo and other Japanese bishops. Also present were several hibakusha, survivors of the atom bombs. The pilgrimage began on 5 August, at the Memorial Cathedral for World Peace, and ended on 10 August with an ecumenical dialogue and a symposium in Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki. In 2023, Bishop Shirahama explained, “we established a ‘Partnership for a world without nuclear weapons’ with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Archdiocese of Seattle, which have suffered the most nuclear damage in the United States, and the Nagasaki Archdiocese and Hiroshima Diocese, … we have begun walking together toward the realization of a world without nuclear weapons”. In a joint statement on 5 August the Church representatives and survivors said they refused “to accept persistent justifications for atomic bombings as a means of ending war” and that they are committed “to expanding our circle of peace and solidarity internationally”.

Bishop Shirahama also mentioned the messages of the Popes throughout the decades that have highlighted the cities affected by such brutality. “Pope John Paul II, and on November 24, 2019, Pope Francis visited Hiroshima and strongly appealed for the abolition of nuclear weapons. On the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings, Pope Leo XIV also sent a warm message encouraging the survivors and believers of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”. The Bishop noted that the “partnership is based on the three ‘ethical commands’ of “remember, walk together, and protect”, which Pope Francis, … referred to as “the power to open the way to peace” (cf. Pope’s Message at Hiroshima Peace Park on 24 November 2019).

It is not an isolated commitment as demonstrated by a statement on the abolition of nuclear weapons published in June by the Catholic Bishops of Japan: “As followers of the gospel of Christ, we strongly urge the complete abolition of nuclear weapons in order to achieve peace through dialogue and to protect the life and dignity of all people… The world should be able to choose peace without nuclear weapons”.