Brad Rozairo OMI — “Protecting All Life Makes Peace” is the theme for this year’s “TEN DAYS OF PRAYER FOR PEACE” which is annually being observed in Japan from August 6 ~ August 15. This initiative was taken by the Bishops of Japan after St. Pope John Paul II’s “Appeal for Peace at Hiroshima” (25 February 1981) during his Apostolic Journey to Japan.
In November 2019 during his visit to Japan, Pope Francis, while standing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park delivered a strong message to the world by saying, “The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral.”
In Nagasaki, he stressed the importance of establishing “global funds to assist those most impoverished peoples, drawn partially from the military expenditures”.
In response to Pope Francis’ Appeal for Peace, last year the Diocese of Hiroshima, the Archdiocese of Nagasaki, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and other organizations came together to launch the Nuclear-Free World Foundation to support non-governmental peace activities. This Foundation will fund people working for the ratification of the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which Japan has NOT SIGNED!
Protected by the so-called U.S. nuclear umbrella against security threats from North Korea and others, the Japanese government continues to ignore calls from the survivors of the atomic bombings to take the lead in achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. A survivor who speaks publicly about her experience of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki said, “It is utter negligence that Japan, the only country in the world to suffer nuclear bombing, is turning a blind eye”
In a message marking this year’s anniversary of the atomic bombs, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan Archbishop Mitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki has released a message inviting people to look at today’s most serious threats to peace.He also renews his appeal to the Government of Japan to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force on 22 January this year. You may click on the link below to read Archbishop’s message. https://www.cbcj.catholic.jp/2021/07/28/22775/
Let us work to build a society without dependence on nuclear power, so that the people of future generations may live in a better world.
