29th August marks the International Day against Nuclear Tests. It is a day dedicated to raising awareness of the devastating effects of nuclear testing and the promotion of global efforts toward nuclear disarmament. To commemorate this day, Bishops Nicholas Hudson and William Kenney of the Department for International Affairs at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales have issued a statement highlighting the long-term impact of nuclear testing on human health and the environment:
“As we approach the Season of Creation, a time of prayer and action for the care of creation and our common home, the International Day against Nuclear Tests offers a moment to reflect on and recognize the devastating impact of nuclear weapons on people and the environment.
“It is perhaps not widely known that over 2,000 nuclear explosive tests have been conducted right up into the 1990s, causing immense devastation. These tests threatened the health of local communities, caused profound environmental damage and left a legacy of social and psychological harm.
“The Holy See has consistently condemned nuclear testing, emphasizing that the ionizing radiation from such testing has had a ‘disproportionate impact on women, girls, and the unborn’ as well as resulting in the ‘desecration of cultural heritage, and debilitating public health issues’.
“We welcome the fact that nuclear testing has largely ceased thanks to painstaking international cooperation in earlier decades but lament the growing international tensions that make further progress so difficult. On this day, we echo Pope Leo’s invitation to ‘work for the conversion of heart’ required to achieve ‘a global commitment to lasting peace, and thus the elimination of nuclear weapons’.
“We encourage all Catholics and those who are committed to justice and peace to advocate for the global elimination of nuclear weapons and pray for the victims. In the words of Pope Leo in his Message for the 80th Anniversary of the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ‘[W]e must forge a global ethic rooted in justice, fraternity and the common good’.”
